The making of a Superpower USA - Economy (1865-1890)

What was the impact of the 1st transcontinental railroad being built in 1869?

It allowed Westward expansion + employed 1 million by 1869

How many kilometres of rail was built between 1869 and 1873?

53,000km

What was the effect of the population increasing to 31.5 million in 1860?

Cheap labour + new consumers

What was the population in 1880?

50 million

How many immigrants were in America during the 1870s?

2.5 million

What was the impact of the 1862 Homestead Act?

Farming expansion (population growth)

What was the impact of the development the 1850s Bessemer Converter?

Carnegie steel was set up in 1889

What did southerners benefit from?

High cotton prices - in 1870 average southerners income was 2/3 of northerns

What caused the 1873 depression?

Lack of banking regulation - anyone could set up a bank

How did speculation lead to bank insolvencies?

Jay Cooke and company speculated about the railroad which led New York banks to make unwise investments

What is an impact of the 1873 depression?

1 / 4 workers in New York unemployed + 1 million nationally between 1873 and 1874

How was rail development impacted by the 1873 depression?

It decreased - 7,500 miles in 1872 to 1,600 miles in 1874

How did mayors benefit from urbanisation?

They would sell housing + transport rights to the highest bidders / provided African Americans with jobs to remain in power

What is an example of urbanisation?

Development of Chicago - 30,000 in 1880 to 1 million by 1890

What is an impact of the 1862 Homestead Act?

Farmers faced hardships - reliant on foreign markets (high competition), loans from westward expansion + price of wheat fell from $1.45 to 76 cents in 1866

What movement developed due to the farmers’ frustration?

Populism

What was the USA in 1860?

A 2nd rate industrial power

What was the annual growth rate in the 1880s?

3.8%

What was the impact of Rockefeller setting up Standard oil in 1870?

He controlled 85% of American oil

What was the impact of the American Federation of Labour (AFL) being created in 1885?

1,400 strikes with 500,000 members in 1886