Chapter 18: The Rise of Industrial America

   This was the time that railroads boomed in corporate finance and started expanding. As the railroads started expanding, more money was put into the corporate finance and how they would have more of a different type of relationship based with the small plant owners. Small plant owners did not appreciate that this corporate landowners would take over the small land, and tried to look over the government for help. Other problems came with the railroad industry booming and the character of the industry changed. In the chapter, they talked about 6 features that dominated the manufacturing world during the Civil War. The first one was the exploitation of a vast variety of technology in transportation, communication, and factories. The second was the exploiting of coal deposits as a source of cheap energy. The third was the demand for workers who could be easily taken advantage of. The fourth was the constant pressure on firms to compete tooth-and-nail by cutting costs and prices. The fifth was the huge drop in prices. The sixth was the fail for supply in money to keep the productivity.
 All these were huge factors that played in the industry role, and I feel without these factors, we wouldn't be as advanced in our technology we are in today's society. We have came a long way so the industrial railroad, and we developed the same concept and ideas, but we have a more advance take on things, and how they would come about. It happened to be different in so many ways, and how everything is perceived is different by looking at different statures to come by. I was surprised to know that in one of the six features, the exploiting of coal is a source of cheap energy. Exploitation and being conscious of what is bad and good for the Earth was starting with the coal as cheap energy. I think we started being more subconscious to what we will consider as good fuel.