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There was a srious post-Civil War financial panic (1873). It is probably best described as a depression lasting for the rest of the decade. Some economists mintain it lasted even longer bleeding into the Panic of 1893. It was not just an American phenomenon, but was experienced globally. Financial problems began in Europe. The initial impact in America was the failure of Jay Cooke & Company, at the time the largest bank in the United States. This suddenly burst the post-Civil War speculative bubble. As is often the case, Govrnment action exacerbated the the financial crisis. Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1873. This immediately depressed the price of silver, damaging North American mining companies. The resulting deflation and wage cuts of the era resulting in labor turmoil. Strongly capitalized banks easily weathered the crisis, but many weaker banks failed. This had casacading impacts because the U.S. Government at the time had no depository insurance programs and state bank regulation varied widely from state to state. A major part of the panic was the railroad industry which now covered the country and had repaired the damage in the South as a result of the Civil War. The American rail system had grown at a meteoric rate since the 1840s. This included some ill conceivedand poorly financed projecrs. The industry consisted of some important rail companies and a large number of small lines. This created considerable complication for riders in traveling a long distance because you had to change to different company lines. Many of these small lines were not well capitalized. The Panic was the end of America's rapid rail expansion. The railroad were affected because of the economic down turn. This mean declining shipments and thus revenue. Many mostly small lines went bankrupt. Some just managed to pay the interest on their bonds. Rail workers who had come to expect secure employment were laid off on a mass scale. Those who kept their jobs experienced substntial wage cuts. This led to many mostly local strikes by rail workers. Eventually rail workers organized the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The rail industry by 1880 was playing a major role in th country's economic life. There were 17,800 freight locomotives carrying 23,600 tons of freight, and 22,200 passenger locomotives. This system played a huge role in the America's rapid industrialization. Rails opened hundreds of millions of acres of farm land and brought European immigrants anxious to homestead the new lands as well as work in the new factories. These lands were amenable to mechanization creating a vast new market. This lowered the cost of food and other goods. The rails created a vast national market, the largest in the world. There were many other impacts including a national time system, a culture of engineering excellence, and the creation of the modern system of industrial management. In short the railroads were at the hear of transforming America from an isolated agricultural state to potentially the most powerful country in the world. Unlike the Europeans, however, Americans had no interest in converting their economic success into milirary power. After the Panic of 1873, American stopped expanding its rail system, but began to consolidate it. New York financier J.P. Morgan played a central role in that consolidation. He engineered a series of reorganizations and consolidations within the fractured and sometimes chaotic American railroad industry. Morgan managed to raise large sums in Europe for this process. He was, howevr, not just a broaker. He asisted the industry in achieving important new efficiencies.
The Pacific Railway Act (1862) made the first transcontinental railroad possible. Construction began after the Civil War. . The Union Pacific Railroad company started building from the east. The Central Pacific began from the west. The eastern portion was fairlybeasy, it was largely flat ri=us ovee the Great POlains. The western leg was very different. It had to cross the forn=midable Rocky Mountains. Immigrant workers played a major role. Chinese on the western keg and Irish on the easrern leg. Thhe two companies finally met met at Promontory Point, Utah (May 10, 1869). The final step was driving the Golden Spike uniting the country. Several more transcontinental railroads were built before the end of the century by large corporations.
The transcontinntal railway opened to vast new opportuniyies. Eventually, four major railroads established direct lines from the Midwest to West Coast including the 1) Great Northern, 2) Northern Pacific, 3) Santa Fe, and 4) Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific.
There was a srious post-Civil War financial panic (1873). It is probably best described as a depression lasting for the rest of the decade. Some economists mintain it lasted even longer bleeding into the Panic of 1893. It was not just an American phenomenon, but was experienced globally. Financial problems began in Europe. The initial impact in America was the failure of Jay Cooke & Company, at the time the largest bank in the United States. This suddenly burst the post-Civil War speculative bubble. As is often the case, Govrnment action exacerbated the the financial crisis. Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1873. This immediately depressed the price of silver, damaging North American mining companies. The resulting deflation and wage cuts of the era resulting in labor turmoil. Strongly capitalized banks easily weathered the crisis, but many weaker banks failed. This had casacading impacts because the U.S. Government at the time had no depository insurance programs and state bank regulation varied widely from state to state. A major part of the panic was the railroad industry which now covered the country and had repaired the damage in the South as a result of the Civil War. The American rail system had grown at a meteoric rate since the 1840s. This included some ill conceivedand poorly financed projecrs. The industry consisted of some important rail companies and a large number of small lines. This created considerable complication for riders in traveling a long distance because you had to change to different company lines. Many of these small lines were not well capitalized. The Panic was the end of America's rapid rail expansion. The railroad were affected because of the economic down turn. This mean declining shipments and thus revenue. Many mostly small lines went bankrupt. Some just managed to pay the interest on their bonds. Rail workers who had come to expect secure employment were laid off on a mass scale. Those who kept their jobs experienced substntial wage cuts.
The Economic Panic of 1873 and the resulting wage cuts led to many mostly local strikes by rail workers. Eventually rail workers organized the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. It was not as this sounds an orgabuzed national effort. It was actually a disorganozed series of violent, local rail strikes across the United States. The country was in the fourth year of a prolonged economic depression after the Panic of 1873. The initial strikes were the result of pay cuts announced by the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad. It was the second cut in only 8 months. Railway work was both poorly paid and dangerous with on the job accidents. The railroad companies had taken advantage of the economic difficulties to break the the growing trade union movement that had begun to form before the Civil War and was gaining momentum. More than 100,000 workers participated in the Strike, but notbat ine time. At the height of the strike it was beginning to approach the character of a general strike. It was, however, by Federal trrops. Earlier efforts to use local police and stare militias had failed, largely because they symphatized with the strikers. More than half the freight on the country’s tracks had been temporarily halted. By the time the strikes had run theoir course, 1,000 strilers had been jailed and over 100 had been killed. The Strike had, however, accomplished bery little. The major impat was that the railroad companies suceeded in damamaging the nacent trade union movement. The companies continued to cut wages and break unions.
Strikes occur against the railroads and the Pullman Palace Car Company. Corporations hire Pinkerton men to break up the strikes. Much violence occurs during these strikes. TgevGreat Railroad Strike of 1877 was the most natable. People were killed and injured, buildings and rolling stock was damaged or destryed. The reports of rioting shocked middle-class Americans.
Wood was used by some early trains, but by the 1870s, coal was the univeral fuel and this would mot change ntil the mid-20th century. George Westinghouse founds the Westinghouse Air Brake Company (1869). The Pacific Railway Act which promoted the inter-coninental railaway helped promote standard gage (1862). At the time there were many different gages in use in the East, maning that the trains of one line could not run on the rails of another line. Railroads begsn install automatic block signals. This resulted in major efficencies and safty procedures. This not only improved safety, but permitted faster train speeds. This in turn meant more efficient utilization of trackage (1870s). Time became a serious problem on longhaul routes. Towns adopted conflicting time conventions. Finally standard time zones were adopted by the railroads (1883) Many southern states finally converted from broad gauges such as 1,524 mm (5 ft) to standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (1886). Webb C. Ball establishes first Railway Watch official guidelines for railroad chronometers (1891).
The rail industry by 1880 was playing a major role in the country's economic life. America was no longer an agricultural country, but a rising indistrial power. There were 17,800 freight locomotives carrying 23,600 tons of freight, and 22,200 passenger locomotives. This system played a huge role in the America's rapid industrialization. Rails opened hundreds of millions of acres of farm land and brought European immigrants axious to homestead the new lands as well as work in the new factories. These lands were amenable to mechanization creating a vast new market. This lowered the cost of food and other goods. The rails created a vast national market, the largest in the world. There were many other impacts including a national time system, a culture of engineering excellence, and the creation of the modern system of industrial management. In short the railroads were at the hear of transforming America from an isolated agricultural state to potentially the most powerful country in the world. Unlike the Europeans, however, Americans had no interest in converting their economic success into military power. An the end of the century, the United States began to build a modern navy, but not a modern army.
The railway after the Civil War became the major form of transport for people anf goods. This was becoming the sutuation before the War, but rapidly became the situation after the War, especially with the completion of thr Transcontinental railway (1869). There were other forms, such as river boats and barges and coastal maritime trade, but these raodidly declined as the rail network rapidly expanded. And before the opening of the Pananama Canal (1914), there was not a viable alernative for travel and most goods shioments. America in the 19th century, even the late-19th century, did not have a national road network. Roads radiated out from the cities and towns, but unless they were located close together, thereere not improved roads connecting them. Some roads were improved in the East, but in the West roads were virtually non-existent, little changed from when the Pioneers began their treks west in the mid-19th century. The bone jarring stage coaches rapidly disappeared with the arrival of the railroads. Their might be regular bridges built across streams, but nmost of the major bridges built across rivers in the 19th century were railway bridges. A town without a railrod station simply could not develop. Where once river connectiins were important, rail sconnevtions now became what was really important. For the vast majority of the pooulation, if they traveled any dustance, they did so by train. Few Anericans had real options. After the completion of the Transcointinenal Railway, one train ran from the east and one from the west weeekly, but traffic rapidly increased from that beginning. Traffic would soubkle ot tripole each decade and that would contunue into the early-20th century.
After the Panic of 1873, American stopped expanding its rail system, but began to consolidate it. New York financier J.P. Morgan played a central role in that consolidation. He engineered a series of reorganizations and consolidations within the fractured and sometimes chaotic American railroad industry. Morgan managed to raise large sums in Europe for this process. He was, however, not just a broaker. He asisted the industry in achieving important new efficiencies. As thecceconomy and companies grew larger, they began to go into related fields. Farmers and small businessesmen had no options but to accept
the services and prices offered. Large trusts were formed that had emense impact on the economy and society. The rail trusts became a major target of the Progressive Movement.
The Pacific Railway Act was just the beginning of Government involvement. Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to regulate railroads and ensure fair prices (1887). Congress passed the Railroad Safety Appliance Act which requireed air brakes and automatic couplers on all trains (1893). This greatly reduced railroad worker injuries and deaths. The Supreme Court ruleds in United States v. Gettysburg Electric Ry. Co. that the Takings Clause under eminent domain could be applied for historic preservation.
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