Expansion & The Railroads Before the prevalence of railroads in the United States, the nation's identity was undiscovered; vast geographic distances were an obstacle to unification. Isolated by waterways and mountains, each town, unaware that each was a member of a transcontinental nation, lived for itself or at most, its state. Railroads, one of the most influential technologies in American history, not only challenged ordinary concepts of time, distance, and travel, but also forever changed …showed first 75 words of 1818 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1818 total…railroad allowed the North to win the Civil War, which led to the abolition of slavery and also increased federal power. The railroad allowed the settlement of the interior and the west. The railroad defined the localities of cities and affect their designs. The railroad not only united the America's melting pot, but encouraged it and helped America form its own unique cultural identity. The railroad is the most influential invention in early American history.