Westward Expansion

Over the years, the state of the US cities kept changing from time to time, due to the industrial revolution which was being witnessed in the world. Different countries in Europe were now becoming industrialized, a move which consequently made countries such as the US to become industrialized in order to be able to manufacture different products. In the 1860-1870 periods, the US seemed to be a small developing country which was trying to look for possible ways of becoming developed (Bruhn, 2011). The country only hard small railroads, whereby they moved to designated areas only and not in different parts of the US. This consequently limited the flow of goods from one area to another (Buder, 2009).

Major cities in the country were not highly industrialized, making activities in such cities to be scattered. In addition, there were huge tracks of land which had been left bare, thus making the cities to look dormant (Montoya et al, 2018). The city of New York, for instance looked as if it was a small city which had different activities scattered in different areas. One could not be able to distinguish the activities which were taking place in major cities, since different activities had been scattered in the cities. The road systems in that period were not that good, since the country only had major roads (Buder, 2009). These major roads were used for linking major cities in the country. Minor roads in the country were less as compared to major roads, since the country had no use of such roads.

The agricultural systems were not that good, since few rural areas had been dominated by agricultural practices (Bruhn, 2011). This consequently made the country to look green, since most of its land had not been put into good use. Authorities in different states did not seem functional, since the country only concentrated on urban areas, forgetting about rural areas. These was consequently the period when the US was developing and the country majorly concentrated on improving the state of its major cities.

In the periods of 1870-1880, industrialization kicked in, a move which consequently saw the country developing massively (Montoya et al, 2018). There was an emergence of railway barons during this period, who made sure that railways lines traversed each and every corner of the country. This was a move of making the transportation of goods and products easy, so us to improve the performance of the country. For instance, J. Edgar Thompson, came up with a strategy of consolidating small railroads into major railroads (Buder, 2009). Thompson therefore consolidated the Ohio and Pennsylvania railroad into one major railroad. This major rail road would therefore be used for the transportation of raw materials from Ohio and Pennsylvania directly to the sea port where they could be imported.

The rail barons became very rich, due to the ways through which they could be able to easily transport their manufactured products to other parts of the world. The developments of the railway systems led to an increase in immigration, whereby most people travelled from the as far as Europe in order to work in the US (Bruhn, 2011). The country witnessed a high number of immigrants, particularly thee Jews who had fled from Germany due to the atrocities which were being witnessed against them. Italians also moved into the country in order to be able to secure good jobs. Word had reached different parts of the world that the US had become a good place where high paying jobs were easy to find.

The immigrants moved into the country, where they offered cheap labor, which consequently led to the growth of major cities. Most immigrants participated in the building and construction sectors, where they helped in the construction of bridges and roads thus making it easy for the country to develop (Bruhn, 2011). These immigrants mainly lived in urban areas, a move which made urban areas to grow rapidly. The face of major cities changed and more and more buildings were built in order to cater for the increasing population of both the immigrants and the Native Americans. Major cities became concentrated and high populated, since different activities were taking place in them (Buder, 2009). Different activities became concentrated in major cities, and roads linking major cities with rural areas also started being built.

This was also the era within which the country started investing massively in agriculture. Different States such as California and Texas became the main producers of agricultural products (Montoya et al, 2018). These states were therefore responsible for the production of agricultural products, since they had adopted the use of farm mechanization. California, Florida and Texas practiced large scale farming, where the farm produce were usually transported by either rail or road to Chicago for packaging. The country was now being turned into an agricultural estate, since most of its food supplies came from within the country (Buder, 2009). The state authorities became serious with their work, and they consequently fostered developments in their areas, where they made it possible for the construction of roads and communication systems in order to better the flow of produce from rural areas into urban area. This was consequently the period when the US had started becoming lively, with different activities taking place in a conducive way.

In the 1880-1890 period, the US started experiencing massive changes in its industrial systems. The country adopted the use machines in each and every sector, in order to reduce the time taken in the production of different services (Bruhn, 2011). This was a move which allowed the country to be able to grow significantly, since most people could therefore be able to reduce the consumption of time taken while working. In addition, machines replaced hard jobs, making it easier for more work to be done within the shortest time possible (Buder, 2009). Major cities became the centers of developments in the country, since most industries were in the cities. In addition, local authorities were created in order to allow them to control the activities which were taking place in the areas.

Agriculture became one of the significant activities in the country, since the country was able to consume the agricultural produce, and export surplus agricultural produce. Moreover, railway became the main driver of developments in the country, since most agricultural produce could be transported from the farm to the industries for packaging through the railway (Montoya et al, 2018). The developments of roads in the country became tremendous, since roads from different parts of the country were supposed to link with the railway. The face of the country changed, the living standards of the people were also raised, since most of them were able to sustain themselves through the jobs the salaries they received.

Reference

Bruhn, J. G. (2011). The Sociology of Community Connections. Dordrecht: Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Montoya, M. E., Belmonte, L. A., Guarneri, C., Hackel, S. W., Hartigan-O'Connor, E., & Kurashige, L. (2018). Global Americans: A history of the United States.

Buder, S. (2009). Capitalizing on change: A social history of American business. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Westward Expansion, 1860-1890. Retrieved from: http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/asset/akh10_int_expansion/