Railroad Network after the Civil War - Assignment Example

Final Examination Questions Railroad Network after the Civil War The emergence and monopoly of railroad Barons, for example, Cornelius Vanderbilt. They gained control of the existing lines and created an empire of railroad stretching from New York City to the Great Lakes. Secondly, James J. Hill, who constructed the famous Great Northern line between Washington State and Minnesota1. These railroad barons were fully competitive and aggressive playing a pivotal role in building the country’s transportation system. Moreover, as industrialization began to rise, there was the need for a less costly means of transportation. Railroad was suitable to carry extremely large amounts of raw products from the farmers to the industries and from the industries to the larger markets. This led to the subsequent expansion of the railroad to accommodate the ever growing clientele1. The resultant national rail system expanded the economy in many ways. The demand for locomotives and iron ore, coal and timber encouraged the iron mining and processing industries to grow thereby stimulating the America’s steel industry by creation of job opportunities and improve the national economic growth. In the late 1880s, railroads had become the nation’s largest industry and largest employer. Moreover, there was the rise of Bid business; new technology enabled production of bigger quantities of goods at lower prices while improving the quality thereby increasing the population buying power and income per capita. Furthermore, there was the rise of new financial institutions, for example, commercial banks, stock exchange and investment companies that accelerated availability of investment capital creating a venture capital necessary for rapid industrial growth1. The railroads were one of the greatest economic drivers ever witnessed in the United States history. They opened the entire nation to settlement and economic growth and finally united the various regions of the country into a single network. The Great Migration The Great Migration refers to the exodus movement of approximately six million Africa Americans out of the Southern United states to the West, Mid West and Northern east States from 1910-19302. The major cause of the Great Migration was the Emancipation Proclamation. It freed the African American society from slavery and allowed for their social rights and freedom as outlined in the U.S constitution. Secondly some of the population moved as a result of pressure from Anti-abolitionist who refused to end the slave trade such as South Carolina, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida. There witnessed increased cases of segregation in these states and widespread violence against the blacks. Finally, the migration was as a result of lack of opportunities and poor social conditions in the Southern states, the economic incentives offered by the Northern states far much outweighed those of the South2. Majority of the Migrants got employment as skilled, semi-skilled and non-skilled in the industrial sectors such as the automobile, ship building, and steel and meatpacking industries. Others found work in domestic labor jobs such as housemaids, butlers, laundresses, chauffeurs and cooks. Furthermore, a class of professionals such as lawyers and teachers and small business owners also benefited from the economic growth in the Northern states. This by large comparison improved the income and consequently the living standards of the African American families. Moreover, the rate of the school going children increased among the African American families improving their overall educational attainment2. Politically, the Migration established the African Americans as the prime elements of the New Democratic Party coalition that began to form in the 1920s and which carried Franklin D. Roosevelt to power in 1933. Socially, as a block, they successfully championed the growing consensus to stamp out inequality and end the Jim Crow segregation. Culturally, the Power of the African American literature, art and music from the urban neighborhoods of the north has impacted positively the identity of American art forever through the Harlem Renaissance2. Korean War The Korean War (1950-1953) was a war between the Republic of South Korea and the North Korea. The South had its support from the United States, with contributions from allied nations under the umbrella of the United Nation. On the other hand, the North got its support from China and material and military aid from the Soviet Union3. The cause of the Korean was as a result, political division of the Korea through an agreement of the victorious Allies following the conclusion of the Pacific War during the end of the World War 2.The failure for the Korean Peninsula to conduct free elections led to the ultimate division of the two sides. The North established a communist government while the South established a capitalist structure3. The Korean War was directly responsible for speeding up the militarization of the Cold war. It gave the conflict a massive military dimension and emphasis. Major countries embraced the militarization process with a distinct possibility of a major attack from either side of the two blocks. The U.S entered into a significant rearmament and moved five divisions to Western Europe and urged the rest of the NATO alliance to follow suit3. Next, the Korean War stimulated the multiplication of worldwide alliances. There was the creation of NATO in 1949, U.S alliance with New Zealand and Australia (1951), Japan and South Korea (1954), and Pakistan and Thailand. Moreover, the Soviet Union also formed an alliance referred to as the Warsaw pact3. Moreover, the war was pivotal in promoting the development of deterrence theory; another version of not only using deterrence to prevent wars but also prevent wars from escalating to the heights of mass destruction. Sustaining the stability of nuclear deterrence became a vital preoccupation of both arms control and deterrence theory. Furthermore, the War boosted Japan’s economic power, enhancing its domestic recovery through the U.S-Japan alliance that encouraged full economic stimulus and exploitation that finally led to the Opening of U.S market3. The Korean situation Portrays that failures to control regional security sooner or later would lead to an incitement to the global level intrusion. John McCain and Sara Palin Sara Palin an Alaskan Governor chosen to be nominated for the running mate by the then presidential hopeful John Mc Cain of the Republican Party. McCain campaigns listed criteria for selecting the vice president, this include the nominee had to; restore McCain maverick credentials, assist the campaign attract women, expand the distance of the campaign from unpopular president Bush and the nominee had to increase the base of the Republican Party4. The Age factor, Palin youthfulness; given that she was only 44years, three years younger than Obama and the youngest ever individual ever to be elected Governor of Alaska. This would appeal to the majority of the youth who consist of approximately forty percent (40%) of the voting population4. Moreover, Palin’s know how to win against all odds enabled her selection be possible. She had to defeat both incumbent republican governor and former Democratic governor. She won all the contests; she defeated Murkowski in the republican primaries and later won the elections. This meant that she planned her campaigns successfully something McCain considered as an important asset in his presidential bid4. Palin succeeded to attract women voters, as women quickly got to know her and became relatively stable at the beginning of the campaigns. Moreover, during the earlier moments of the campaigns, she got rated favorable than Bush by liberals, moderates and conservatives. This was critical to McCain since he needed an individual who would be able to portray him as exceedingly separate from Bush4. During the end of the campaigns, many women changed their perception towards Palin and her ratings dropped significantly. Moreover, conservatives, moderates and liberalist views on her took a u turn. This affected and dented the chances of McCain to clinch the Presidential post. Social issues, especially rumors of her further dented her national image; media alleged her daughter being pregnant and her official yahoo e-mail account was hacked and personal documents and photos leaked into the internet4. Palin was a fascinating and bold choice for the republicans. However, it is undeniably that she had an unusually minimal success in fulfilling her obligation to assist clinched the presidency for the republican ticket. Works Cited 1Angevine, Robert G. 2004. The railroad and the state: war, politics, and technology in nineteenth-century America. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press. 2Greenfield, Eloise, and Jan Spivey Gilchrist. 2011. The Great Migration: journey to the North. New York: Amistad. 3Malkasian, Carter. 2009. The Korean War. New York: Rosen Pub. 4Horn, Geoffrey M. 2009. John McCain. Pleasantville, NY: Gareth Stevens Pub. Read More