Antebellum Railroads

Antebellum Railroads

Richmond, Virginia

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The establishment of railroads along the James in downtown Richmond enabled the city to become one of the most prominent manufacturing and slavery-centered city in the antebellum United States. Railroad construction began in Richmond in the 1830’s in conjunction with Richmond’s plans to revitalize its canal and enable greater connections between the city and other parts of the country.[i] The first railway in Virginia, Chesterfield Railroad, traveled the southern border of Manchester. As the number of railroads expanded, the marketplace of Richmond became increasingly focused on transportation and trade, as infinitely more individuals were able to travel to and participate within Richmond’s economy.[ii]  As these industries continued to grow, the population of Richmond did as well, as booming businesses provided labor opportunities for foreign individuals from the North and other countries including Germany and Ireland.[iii]   Free and enslaved individuals alike built the locomotives, creating an incentive for journeying to the urban city. [iv] This influx of varying cultures altered the political and economic power that these individuals held in Richmond’s labor and political economies.[v]  The railroads built in the Canal were often created at Tredegar Iron Works, illustrating the powerful link the James provided between Richmond’s evolutions.[vi]  During the Civil War, these railroads allowed Richmond to become a medical center for Confederate forces.  The James River, the Kanawha Canal, and five railroads were completed by 1861, enabling a new level of networks between the city and the rest of the antebellum South.

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[i] Link, William A., Roots of Secession: Slavery and Politics in Antebellum Virginia, The University of North Carolina Press, 2003, 29.

[ii] Link, William A., Roots of Secession: Slavery and Politics in Antebellum Virginia, The University of North Carolina Press, 2003, 32.

[iii] Gregg, Kimball D.,  American City, Southern Place: A Cultural History of Antebellum Richmond, Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2000, 21.

[iv] Gregg, Kimball D.,  American City, Southern Place: A Cultural History of Antebellum Richmond,  Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2000, 5.

[v] Link, William A., Roots of Secession: Slavery and Politics in Antebellum Virginia, The University of North Carolina Press, 2003, 21.

[vi] Gregg, Kimball D.,  American City, Southern Place: A Cultural History of Antebellum Richmond,  Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2000, 4.