Throughout the history of the country, events occur that ultimately have a significant impact on its development, as well as the formation of the nation. Although the United States has a shorter history than many other well-known states worldwide, this does not exclude its peculiarities. The most important topics in the history of the United States, which have had the most significant impact on the formation of the modern state, are the creation of the Constitution, the expansion of borders, and the establishment of the railway.
Today, the citizens of America are considered the main connoisseurs and fighters for freedom. The United States has long existed politically based on a balance between a free North and a slave-owning South that competed for a fast-growing West. The South developed a plantation system based on the slavery of African Americans, which led to a movement to abolish slavery. In 1787-89, the US Constitution was adopted, which made it possible to hold elections for Congress and the President (Fischer, 2021). That is, the legal basis of demography in the country was developed. The states will ratify the Constitution over the next two years after 10 amendments were adopted to the main text, protecting the rights and freedoms of citizens (Fischer, 2021). In general, the period after the end of the War of Independence was accompanied by active territorial expansion, economic development, and the growth of internal contradictions.
As a result of the rise of the American state, the country reached its present-day continental boundaries through treaties, purchases, and wars. One of the most important historical moments in the formation of modern America was the acquisition of Louisiana in 1803. The territory is a huge strip of land, more than 800,000 square miles, and makes up almost a third of the modern United States (Spear, 2018). Initially, the land passed from French colonial rule to the Spanish and then back to the French. When the US presidency began, Thomas Jefferson, then president, bought the territory from Napoleon in 1803 for a final price of about $27 million (Spear, 2018). The area’s fertility, climate, and size provided the country with financial prosperity, stability, and great opportunities for strengthening freedom.
With the expansion of the state’s territory, the need to establish a stable connection between its different ends arose. Therefore, in 1869, the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad was completed (McCurdy, 2019). The road connected the east and west coasts of the United States and facilitated the settlement of the Great Plains – a vast foothill plateau in the center of the continent. Rail transport is a key link in the chain of world economic relations. (McCurdy, 2019) Its dynamic development and effective functioning are necessary for achieving high and sustainable economic growth rates, ensuring the financial integrity and security of any country, and improving people’s living standards.
Transport creates the possibility of market exchange, and the market, in turn, stimulates transport development. As a result of the development of transport routes, a significant transformation of intracontinental trade took place. For years after construction was completed, the railroad transported $50 million worth of cargo annually from coast to coast (McCurdy, 2019). The railroad provided a manufacturing boom as industry extracted the vast resources of the middle and western continents for manufacturing.
The United States of America was formed by the unification of the British colonies that declared their independence. In 1789, the US Constitution came into force, which became the main impetus for the consolidation of the states. The American state was formed and expanded due to the expansion of territories, among other things. The Louisiana Purchase, which greatly expanded the part of the country, made a significant contribution to the development of the economy and society as a whole. As a result, there was a need to establish a connection within and outside the country. The railroad opened the way for the settlement of the West, provided new economic opportunities, stimulated the city’s and communities’ development, and generally tied the country together.
References
Fischer, M. E. (2021). Establishing democracies. Routledge.
McCurdy, H. E. (2019). Financing privately developed transportation schemes: Precedents from the First Transcontinental Railroad. Financing the New Space Industry, 13–26. Web.
Spear, J. M. (2018). The Louisiana Purchase: Liberty, slavery, and the incorporation of the territory of Orleans. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History. Web.