Railroads and the Making of Modern America explores the dynamic social change that came between 1850 and 1900 with the growth of railroads, telegraphs, steam ships and other technologies. We concentrate on the railroad network,the nation's first major system. The railroad's expansion and development brought profound economic, social, and political changes.
This project aims to collect documentary materials on the railroads' social consequences and to create network visualizations that allow users to explore the roots of modern America.
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Views are interpretive historical representations, frameworks through which to better understand one aspect of the past. Each View contains a variety of visual representations such as interactive maps, language analysis graphs, and more. |
When complete, this site will contain thousands of primary source documents. Our archive includes personal letters, newspaper articles, images, business documents and more. Documents are identified with a particular Topic, and are accessible through the Views and Topics pages; however, users can also search the archive without accessing a Topic or View. |
The Roots of Modern America blog includes podcasts, commentary, and historical analysis about the social changes Americans experienced in the second half of the 19th century and explores their meaning today. |
