Richard White talks about how the transcontinental railroads transformed the nation in the late 19th century. His book Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America focuses on railroads as the first corporate behemoths, and how their attempts to generate profits from proliferating debt sparked devastating panics in the U.S. economy. The railroads also remade the landscape of the West and opened new worlds of work and ways of life.
Guests:
Richard White
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Comments [4]
It's a shame I wasn't near a phone uring the show.
As I have written in my blog, the Number one way we can rebuild our country (create jobs, create a new manufacturing economy, create a GREEN and energy efficiennt method to transport stuff via rail instead of TRUCK... see my blog at
sos-newdeal.blogspot.com ...
wishI could have spoken to the author,bet he would have LOVED the idea!
I like the title of Mr. White's book. Is it a triple pun?
can your guest paint a picture of how much smaller the national economy was prior to the railroads? wasn't the Erie Canal a major thoroughfare and comment on importance of Buffalo, NY at that time...
An intreesting footnote is that the legal concept of 'corporate personhood' was related to a case involving a Souther California RR.
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