The Iron tracks the linked America

The introduction of the railroad in the United States helped to greatly shape the country as a
whole and changed the course of American history. It helped to revolutionize the method of
transportation and shipping of goods and people. The vast and rapid expansion of America in
the 1800s was also a direct result of the construction of the railroads across the country.
Wolmar, Christian. Blood, Iron, and Gold: How the Railways Transformed the World.
New York, NY,

USA: Public Affairs, 2010. Accessed March 26, 2015. ProQuest

ebrary.
Christian Wolmars book illustrates the way in which railroads have changed the world over
the past centuries. Throughout his book he discusses different region of the world and the
impact that the locomotive had left on its respective area. In the chapters about the United
States he goes into detail about the different, short and long term effect that the railroads had
on this countrys history. From the daunting task of constructing the iron tracks, to the
economic benefits reaped by many as a result of them, Wolmar gives a well written synopsis
of its history in the 1800s. The chapter about American history gives primary examples of the
time period to illustrate the different impacts it had. He talks about specific routes that were
laid out, discusses aspects like who built it, who supported it, the lengthy and tough process
of it. Through these different examples Wolmar enables the reader to get a better
understanding of how the railroads get to where they are and what positive and negative
affects that transpired from it.
Stover, John F.. American Railroads. Chicago, IL, USA: University of Chicago Press,
2008. Accessed March 26, 2015. ProQuest ebrary.

John Stovers journal depicts the rise and fall of the railway system in America. He gives a
chronological illustration of the history of railroads, from the laying of the first track to the
modern era. His main focus however the 1800s to early 1900s, which he refers to as the
Golden Age of railroads. The journal gives different examples of how the United States
had been vastly shaped by means of transportation and how the mid-1800s was the Age of
the Railroads. It discusses how these iron tracks had played a decisive role in almost every
major part of American history. Roles such as the transportation of immigrants rise of
trappers and cowboys, emergence of suburbs, and supplying the West. Stover believes that it
the building of the railroads played an intricate role in most aspects of America, and is a main
reason why this country is what it is today.
Fogel, Robert William. Railroads and American Economic Growth. Baltimore, MD:
Johns Hopkins Press, 1964.
Robert Fogels book gives an explanation of what the title eludes to, the railroads effect on
the economic growth in America. As it still touches on other topics dealing with railroads, its
main focus deals with the economy. To give a good depiction of the impact of the railroads,
in one chapter the book illustrates a what-if scenario of what would the outcome would be if
the railway system had never been used in America. He discusses different aspects of the
economy that profited by means of this transportation. There is a chapter about its effect on
agriculture, where he discusses how the agriculture industry grew and how farmers cashed in
on this technology. Another chapter talks about how the manufacture of goods drastically
increased now that there was a faster and more efficient mean of transporting the good across
the country. He also touches on the railroads effect on Reconstruction in the U.S., and how it
radically changed the outcome of various aspects of American history.