History and Causes of the Rapid Development of the State of New York - Essay Example

New York Sur New York is currently one of the largest cities in the world and a global commercial hub. The growth and development of the New York City has been progressive taking effect in the 19th century, as the country consequently became a super power. The largely populated city has enjoyed some of the best infrastructure, effective governance and conducive climate all of which have contributed to its rapid development as the city consequently became the country’s commercial center as early as the 9th century (Claude & Burns, 2006). The city therefore steered several growth prospects as the economy of the city consists of several other large industries that began in the early years. The growth and expansion of the city especially in the 9th century were due to certain strategic factors that seamlessly led to the city becoming the country’s commercial center as discussed in the essay below. Among the key factors that led to the city’s rapid growth has remained its large population. In the mid-19th century, New York’s population was more than seven million already. The large population has facilitated the city’s economic growth as the population instigates demand for the basic services thereby leading to the growth of different industries in the country (Jonathan, 2005). The large population was therefore the city’s greatest capital that instigated and sustained the growth, as the city progressively became a commercial hub in the early and mid-119th century. The population resulted in the increase of demand for products and services key among which included the demand for housing and foodstuff among other essential services that sustain life. The city therefore developed progressively become a market for some of the basic services such as housing and an industrial center as companies readily set up in order to exploit the vibrant market (Michael, 1993). New York City has enjoyed effective infrastructure throughout history. The expansive road networks, waterways and a steam engine that linked different regions within the city provided the much-desired transportation of goods and services thereby perpetuating the economic growth of the city. Transportation is a fundamental feature that facilitates the development of effective markets in an economy. The local authorities of the city understood this fact as early as in the early and mid-19th century and developed different effective transport systems including roads and waterways. The city of New York has had a scenic topography with different rivers crisscrossing the interiors of the city. The authorities of the city therefore tapped on the expansive network of rivers developing strategic canals such as the Erie Canal on the Hudson River. The development of such canals coupled with the long rivers influenced the development of the city leading to the city becoming a commercial center in the 19th century as the people of the city relied on the river for the transportation of goods and humans (French, 1860). New York enjoyed effective governance a factor that led to the development of a strong and peaceful metropolis in the country. Governance is fundamental in the development of a strong economy. Effective governance makes realistic decisions concerning the management and development of a region. The state of New York has had the three different arms of government as in the other fifty states of the United States. With an effective and independently elected governor, judiciary and other elected state representatives, the city has enjoyed effective and efficient governance as the local authorities make all the fundamental development decisions that resulted in the city becoming a commercial center in the mid-19th century (Koeppel, 2009). Among the strategic development policies, the government of the city instituted in the 19th century included the development of Erie Canal, the rail and road networks some of which have remained essential in the development and planning of the city to date (Marable, 2007). The effective governance of the city especially in the 19th century ensured that the city enjoyed peace and security required for the development of a metropolitan society. The state of New York has enjoyed the constitutional protection as the people had appropriate ways of electing and monitoring the functions of different state officials (Perrucci & Earl, 2007). This improved the accountability of such individuals thereby motivating them to steer the development of the city. Among the key priorities of such state officers throughout the history of the city have been to improve the security, peace and stability of the city, the peace and security coupled with the high population of new York led to the rapid economic development as the city fast became the commercial hub of the country. Peace and security are fundamental factors that attract investors to a location. Such factors therefore perpetuated the development of New York in the early and mid-19th century (McGreevy, 2009). New York enjoyed appropriate climate, a factor that led to the development of the city during the agrarian and industrial revolutions. The conducive ecological factors facilitated the development of some of the industries in the city thereby leading to the city’s rapid growth in the 9th century. The entire state subsequently became a cosmopolitan society as the expansive state became a commercial hub. The suburbs of the city were large plantations of cotton, sugar and wheat among other crops at the time. The plantations created the demand for labor as people travelled to the state to work in the plantations. Consequently, the large plantations resulted in the development of different industries as the city of New York progressively became industrialized. Different produce from the plantations required timely processing before transportation to different markets. The development of companies in the city perpetuated the population increase as the companies provided labor to the populace and before long, the city of New York became a self-sustaining center as the produce from the farm gets ready market from the high population (Carl, 2009). In a summary, the city of New York succeeded in becoming a commercial center for the United States in the early 19th century owing to a combination of both ecological and factors of governance to become the greatest commercial center in the world. The strategic placement of the state in a location traversed by the great Hudson River facilitated one of the greatest engineering projects as the state authorities commissioned the construction of the Erie Canal that would later open the state thus facilitating the economic growth of the state (Johnson, 2002). The capitalist investors who owned large plantations in the state therefore enjoyed efficient transportation of their produce as they sought different markets within the expansive state. Coupled with the large population of the city and the security maintained by the local state authorities in the mid-19th century, the city readily became a commercial center. References Carl, B. (2009). To Count New Stimulus Jobs, Help Really Wanted. New York: Wall Street. Claude, R. & Burns, H. W. (2006). Human Rights in the World Community: Issues and Action. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. French, J. H. (1860). Historical and statistical gazetteer of New York State. Syracuse, New York: R. Pearsall Smith. Johnson, M. P. (2002). Reading the American Past: Selected Historical Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins. Jonathan, K. (2005). The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America. New York: crown. Koeppel, G. (2009). Bond of Union: Building the Erie Canal and the American Empire. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press. Marable, M. (2007). Race, Reform and Rebellion: The Second Reconstruction and Beyond in Black America, 1945 - 2006. Jackson, Miss: University Press of Mississippi. McGreevy, P. (2009). Stairway to Empire: Lockport, the Erie Canal, and the Shaping of America. Albany: SUNY Press. Michael, G. (1993). The Orange riots: Irish political violence in New York City, 1870 and 1871. New York: OUP. New York State Historical Association (1940). New York: A Guide to the Empire State. New York City: Oxford University Press. Perrucci, R. & Earl, W. (2007). The New Class Society: Goodbye American Dream?Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield. Read More