PASSAGE TO UNION: HOW THE RAILROADS TRANSFORMED AMERICAN LIFE, 1829-1929

This book explores the social, economic, and legal impact of the growth of the railroads in the United States. It reveals how the railroads and their entrepreneurs drew together the vast geographical reaches of the union, but at a high cost. Smaller towns withered as people and money flowed to the larger cities, and the social and economic life of the nation was forever changed. By 1900 the union that emerged reflected the worst fears of railroad critics: the South and West had been settled, but wealth had become so concentrated in cities that rural life had lost its attraction. Drawing from a wide variety of sources, including literature, diaries, and memoirs, the author has constructed an absorbing story of apparent triumph and real loss.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/1566632188
• Corporate Authors:

  Ivan R. Dee, Incorporated

  1332 North Halsted Street
  Chicago, IL  United States  60622
• Authors:
  • Gordon, S H
• Publication Date: 1997

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos;
• Pagination: 416 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Cities; Economic impacts; History; Legal factors; Railroads; Small towns; Social impacts
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Economics; History; Law; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00780249
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 1566632188
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 14 1999 12:00AM