Comparing Railroad Expansion in the North and South During Postbellum America

Introduction

In a postbellum world, the United States looked to heal the wounds of the Civil War socially and politically through reunification, but also through economic development. The South’s agrarian lifestyle and structure were wrecked at the end of 1865, as well as its enslaved labor force for its plantation economy, which was now granted freedom. The “New South” would be created in this aftermath, and it would be led by the might of northern industry and capital. Industry looked to diversify and spread across the South’s industrial centers; the development and creation of railroads would be the key driving factor in the South’s rehabilitation and growth. This analysis will look at the outcome of railroad development in Northern and Southern states in the years that followed the end of the Civil War. 

Research Methodology and Sources

To understand this topic, there is a wealth of qualitative data that has been accumulated in the prior century, plus focusing on this period of economic growth. It was in this post-bellum society that the United States saw tremendous economic growth in many aspects of its society, not just solely in the railroad and transportation networks. Some of the valuable sources for this era and topic are the data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and statistical collection by Cambridge University on economic growth in American history. These sources provide a wealth of reports concerning railroad development, annual reports of railroad companies, and contemporary observations from government publications documenting railroad mileage, freight transportation, and regional investment patterns. Through this data, we can see the statistical trends that would define the era’s development and into the period referred to as the “Gilded Age”. 

Beyond the primary sources mentioned, there are also numerous secondary sources that include articles and books written by scholars detailing the trends of the era in both macro and micro lenses. These sources provided a narrative and scholarly analysis of regional and national growth during this era. Richard White's Railroaded looks to outline the key relationship between the growth of railroad expansion and federal policies. The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business, by Alfred Chandler, focuses on how railroads pioneered the development of modern corporate organization. Both authors discuss how the federal government played an integral role in the machinations of railroad growth. Whether through federal land grants and deals for land rights, or lack of government oversight or interference, railroad companies began to hold massive sway throughout the country. 

Two other authors whose research stands out are Gavin Wright and Robert Fogel. Wright provides a key perspective on the development of the southern economy in the post-Civil War years. His work helps provide a comprehensive view of the era beyond just the focus on the industrialized North and the beginning of connections to the far west.  Fogel’s work discusses how railroad development was instrumental in the growth of all other facets of the economy and the nation as a whole. These sources provide a very comprehensive overview of railroad expansion, as we have statistical data and numbers to support narratives and analysis of the economic outcomes. 

Comparative Analysis: Railroad Growth in the North and South

Even before Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, Lincoln, his cabinet, and congressional leaders were beginning to formulate the plans for what would be referred to as “Reconstruction”. With major hurdles of reconciliation needed to overcome social and political differences between the North and the South, there were also serious economic hurdles towards the future prosperity of the new unified nation. The war left the Southern railroad system in disarray as large parts of the track and infrastructure were destroyed through the various campaigns and engagements. Northern railroad infrastructure was largely intact and saw the continuation and completion of the Transcontinental Railroad from Iowa and Nebraska to California. At the end of 1865, approximately two-thirds of the South's railroad mileage required significant repair before normal commercial operations could start again.

Despite this setback, the years after the Civil War saw railroad construction expand rapidly all over the nation. The U.S. Census data shows the country had 35,000 miles of railroad track in 1865. By 1880, the nation’s network exceeded 93,000 miles, and by 1900, it would surpass 193,000 miles. This represented a fivefold increase within a period of only 35 years.

Despite the growth of these numbers on a large scale. There were distinct statistical differences based on individual regions. Northern states saw a great influx of investment and capital to further develop the industrialized cities and markets of the region. In just the North, between 1865 and 1890, the total amount of railroad track that was laid doubled. These new tracks connected centers such as Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. This vast transportation network, as Fogel describes, was one of the main catalysts for the economic boom of the North. By 1880, Northern states produced close to 75% of all the nation’s manufactured goods.

As the burgeoning industrial giant that was developing in the North, the South followed a very different path and trajectory. The South’s railroad network was first rebuilt and then expanded in the decades after the Civil War, but its growth was hindered by several factors. As Northern capitalists flocked to finance and invest in new railroad projects, Southern investments were harder to secure. This resulted in financing coming from either Northern capitalists or even foreign investments. Another factor in railroad expansion was the economy of the Southern states. Where Northern trains carried a wide array of goods in their freight cars, Southern trains primarily hauled agricultural-based products. The shipping of cotton and tobacco remained one of the main staples for the Southern Railway system. The U.S. Census shows that cotton production increased from 2.2 million bales in 1866 to over 7 million bales by 1880. That number would further increase to over 10 million bales by 1890. Wright discusses how railroad growth was key in helping foster this growth in the cotton industry. However, many other aspects of the Southern economy did not grow at such a rapid rate as the cotton industry. 

Conclusion

The economic data further shows the differences in the regional growth of the North and South. By the year 1880, manufacturing output in the North was nearly four times that of the South. Other factors contributed to this, including the rise of urbanization and the factory system in northern cities, as well as the influx of immigration and population growth across the region. Whereas the South did not see the influx of urbanization into its few cities or the growth of factories to the same scale as its northern counterparts. Furthermore, nearly 80 percent of the southern population remained living in rural communities by 1900. During Reconstruction, the rise of sharecropping and tenant farming systems relegated many former slaves to working in agriculture, making little to no income or generating long-term wealth. With a large population and not having disposable income, the need for more manufactured goods and products across the South never reached the same levels as in the North. 

Railroad growth and expansion were comparable to these regional differences. Northern railroad expansion was aided by the existing institutions that were in place and the capital that was readily available to further foster economic growth. Whereas the similar setbacks that plagued the Southern economy before the Civil War were largely still present at the turn of the century. These regional economic differences would only further become apparent as the nation pushed towards the Gilded Age. 

Bibliography 

Chandler, Alfred D., Jr. The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1977.

Fogel, Robert William. Railroads and American Economic Growth: Essays in Econometric History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1964.

Gross, Daniel P. "Collusive Investments in Technological Compatibility: Lessons from U.S. Railroads in the Late 19th Century." National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper no. 26261, 2019. https://doi.org/10.3386/w26261.

Sutch, Richard. "Railroad Mileage Built: 1830–1925." Table Df882–885. In Historical Statistics of the United States, Earliest Times to the Present: Millennial Edition, edited by Susan B. Carter, Scott Sigmund Gartner, Michael R. Haines, Alan L. Olmstead, Richard Sutch, and Gavin Wright. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1017/ISBN-9780511132971.Df865-1111.

U.S. Bureau of the Census. Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1975.

U.S. Census Office. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1902.

White, Richard. Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011.

Wright, Gavin. Old South, New South: Revolutions in the Southern Economy Since the Civil War.

Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1986.

Wright, Gavin. The Political Economy of the Cotton South. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1978.