All throughout American History, trains have played a major role.  During the early Civil War reconstruction era all the way into the 1900's trains transformed America.  They helped to expand into western territories, make day to day travel quicker and easier, and even help certain industries like timber, cattle, and mining grow.  Many cities were formed and changed for the better.  They were finally allowed to grow and create big business like mining and textile mills.  While most of the impact was positive for the United States, like anything there were some negatives.  The movement west interrupted Native Americans that had been living there for many generations.  This caused distress between natives and white settlers.  In this essay I will explain and prove to you how trains, like the Flying Yankee, changed America forever

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For the north during the Civil War, trains were a huge help towards their victory.  There were already many train lines that ran throughout the north, so it was much easier for the north to transport supplies to their soldiers, like shoes, food, and clothing.  A big part of the north's victory was the south's lack of supplies for their soldiers.   With the help of the Union's blockade and the trains, the north basically cut off the supplies going to southern soldier, really giving them a big advantage against the south.  After the Civil War, the southern economy was in ruins.  The south had no way to transport and sell their goods because most of the few rail lines in the south had been destroyed in war.  With the building of railroad networks throughout the country, the south was able to come back and grow their economy.  During the challenging time of reconstruction, the railways were able to connect the north and south after their time of separation.  They provided much faster and easier transportation for carpetbaggers going south, as well as goods.  with all the new business and people moving south, many factories were created.  Before the war, the north had most of the factories in the entire country.  After the war, new railroads forming created more factories across the country in the west and south.  The railroads really helped the south to cultivate its economy and all around develop.

 

The new train systems greatly impacted the entire west, with both good and bad.  Trains made settling the west much easier for white settlers.  Before train systems had expanded west, traveling there could be extremely dangerous.  You could face getting stuck in the Rockies for the winter, running out of supplies, or running into mad Indians that did not want you there.  The new  trains were much  safer.  You didn't have anything to worry about!  To top that, the journey by wagon normally took about four-six months time.  On  a train, the journey west took around five-seven days!  When trains like the Yankee came into play later, the journey would only be about three days!   For settlers, the train expansion made traveling west easy, but there were other people out there.  Native Americans that had been living there for generations were extremely mad to see white settlers invading their land.  In the early 1800's  many treaties had been made to protect the Native American's land.  When gold was discovered, many people fled west.  This disrupted the of the Natives.  In 1858 god was discovered in Pikes Peak, Co which belonged to the Cheyennes and Arapahos.  Miners forced their way into the land, pushing the natives out.  After many more incidents like that, the US Government formed Indian Reservations, but many had been killed in fighting or had been pushed out of their land.  For the most part, this solved the fighting with the Indians.  They lost many of their loved traditions on the Reservations, like The Ghost Dance, once celebrated a new world free of whites with a great abundance of food and clothing.  After the

 

 

Indian issues had been settled, it was a wonderful time for mining companies.  The building of trains and tracks required tons of steel.  Huge mining companies went west to dig up loads of metals, which they used to supply railroad companies like the Union Pacific.  Later on, with the Transcontinental Railroad stretching all the way across the country, many prospectors went west wit the hopes of getting rich.  Boom towns popped up around veins of gold or silver.  Merchants came out to sell the prospectors the tools they needed like pick, shovels, or clothes.  Hotels and restaurants formed to accommodate them.  Some merchants made more money off of the prospectors rather than searching for gold!  Many of the boom towns faded into Ghost Towns when the vein was all used up, but for some, like Denver, CO, they stuck around to form the basis of towns and cities in the west.

 

As the west was starting to profit and develop, some people ventured to the southwest.  Most of the land in the southwest had been won in the Mexican War, so most of the people that lived there were Hispanic-Americans.  Most of them were vaqueros, skilled riders who herded cattle.  They owned large ranches and raised cattle.  When trains were built west, it made transporting beef to cities in the east much easier than ever before.  Many white settler started to raise cattle; they hired Mexican workers for extremely low wages.  Beef was in high demand for the east, so the Cattle Kingdom became a huge business.  "Cow Towns" popped up around the trains stations.  Cowhands would bring a huge drive of cattle to the stations, then load them onto train cars to cities in the east.  Beef became a huge part of the American diet.  The cattle boom started to fade around 1870.  The business of beef though, stayed extremely important in the American life.

 

The north also changed a great deal with the railroads.  The new railroads made trading with the south and west much easier.  Merchants could now ship goods faster and cheaper.  Businesses in the north like textile mills, expanded their shipments to all over the United States.  Cities in the north grew just like in the west.  As people moved west, there was the need for clothing, shoes, and food, etc., creating factory jobs in the north.  It was a chance for the northern cities to expand and increase economic growth.  The railroads brought money and wealth to places that had not seen it before, like the west and south.  Jobs were created for crewmen on the trains and for workers to lay track.  For the canal business, the railroad basically took the place of canal boats.  To travel anywhere on a canal boat it took a much longer amount of time then on a train.  To travel west by  canal boat, it was anywhere from $100-$300!  It also took about 4-6 months, just like a wagon.  You had to pay the canal boat company to feed and care for you for the entire time.  On a train it only took about 4-7 days to go west and cost much less, only around $45!  People that worked for the canal companies quickly lost their jobs as the companies died out.  Canal boats were quickly replaced with railroads. 

 

 Tourism was also greatly impacted by the growth of trains.  The town and area around Lincoln, NH, is a great example.  In the late 1700's early settlers moved into Lincoln for logging and subsistence farming.  For a long time, that was the only attraction to the little town.  At the turn of the century, 1800, access to Lincoln had improved greatly with better roads.  Early hotels began to arise and tourism started to become very important.  In the 1850's logging was still around.  Into the 1880's the new railroad line had come to Lincoln.  Grand Hotels like the Mount Washington Hotel, and Profile House were all built around and in Franconia Notch.  In the summer many tourists would travel north from cities, like Boston, to see the beautiful scenery and enjoy the peace and quiet.  The Flying Yankee was one of the many trains that completed that route.  The Flying Yankee could travel at a speed of 112mph!  This was a sort of breakthrough in the world of traveling.  Its speed was due to such a large engine in comparison to its size.  The train did not have to start and stop much, so it could carry its speed.  This was one of the first "luxury" trains that people rode for pleasure.  It had a very scenic route; so many tourists were drawn to the new vacation destinations of Franconia Notch and Lincoln, NH.  These towns began to depend more and more on the business of travelers.  The small towns began to grow because people were needed to run the hotels, restaurants and the small businesses to supply tourists with all they needed.  In the 1890's J.E. Henry moved into Lincoln which really built up the logging and paper industry.  At that point the Henry family owned the whole town of Lincoln.  Tourism and logging were the main businesses.  The Flying Yankee was a model for future trains.  It was model for bullet-trains of the future.  It had a very aerodynamic shape, a shovel nose (making it streamlined), its light weight made it very fuel-efficient.  Some new trains today still use the technology the Flying Yankee created.  It greatly impacted the way every day people traveled.  Before trains, traveling was an expensive, time consuming, and hard journey.  With the new trains of the time, traveling was made quick, easy, and much cheaper.  Today, tourism is still a huge part of our economy, especially in the Lincoln and Franconia Notch areas.  People still travel from all over to visit New Hampshire for skiing, hiking, and many other outdoor activities like kayaking.  In the 1950's, with cars becoming more popular for everyone to have, trains started to become a little less popular.  Cars changed how people traveled again, but trains stayed a very important role in our society.  Today we use trains to move goods like coal, iron ore, and other finished products.

 

In conclusion, trains played a huge role in American History.  They helped people settle the west and create towns that would later grow into permanent settlements.  Trains also helped factories in the north grow and expand their business.  They even helped patch the north and south back together after the Civil War.  Without the invention and expansion of railroads, our society today would be completely different.  Trains especially helped small vacation destinations, like Lincoln, to grow and become confident towns.  Trains have helped America from itself and become unique.  Over, trains were necessary in the growth and development of America.

 

                                                  Thank You Flying Yankee!