At the rise of the Industrial Age, or the Gilded Age, railroads became the industrial epicenter. With the completion of the transcontinental railroad, the movement of supplies and goods became easier, faster, and much more efficient. However, large railroad corporations began to monopolize the market and buy out small businesses before they could take a toll on their service. The economic growth of the United States is due, a considerable amount, to the railroads. The railroads most affected the growth of the economy through the transportation of goods. It became easier for businesses to manufacture or produce goods, transport them, and sell them to make more profit.
In an effort to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, the Missouri Compromise was passed in 1820 admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state.
When the United States finally emerged from the Great Depression during World War II, it had hundreds of new roads and public buildings, widespread electrical power, and replenished resources for industry.
