From the Big Four to the Mass Market :: Economics Economy Essays

From the Big Four to the Mass Market From the 1860’s to the 1920’s, the economic landscape of California shifted from a industrialist-centered production economy to a mass market consumption economy. Perhaps the best end posts for this transition are the â€Å"Big Four† of the railroad era in the 1860’s and the mass spec-ulation in oil, restate, and other industries of the 1920’s. In between, the continuous booms of Southern California provided the crucial element of the mass market economy: population. These three elements do more than demonstrate three different economic engines which drove Califor-nia’s growth, however; they also provide examples of the corruption and collusion surrounding the generation of vast amounts of money. Moreover, following the public exposure of such cor-ruption, we see in each case the government stepping in to prevent (or at least mitigate) future cor-ruption. This recurrent theme of explosive growth, the attendant corruption, and the regulation w hich follows is the underlying process behind the evolutionary development of the California economy. Growth Without question, the railroad industry was crucial to the ascension of California as an economic powerhouse. While the Gold Rush placed California on the map in the minds o America (and indeed world-wide), it remained a remote outpost accessible only by a long and expen-sive sea voyage or a long and arduous overland trek, restricting immigration and leaving California an isolated market (Rice, 255). California was destined to grow as an exportdriven economy (a pattern already established by the hide and tallow industry of Mexican California), and it was the transcontinental railroad which unlocked the rest of America as a massive market to absorb California’s richness of resources and products. Furthermore, railroads within California also connected previously isolated regions, and generally increased land values and individual incomes (Rice, 276). Oaklan d is posited by Rice as an archtypical example of urban growth due to railroad con- nectivity, with population growth from around 2000 in 1868 to 35000 in 1880 (277). Growing in more than just population, Oakland became one of the first cities wired for telephones and electricity, and became an industrial and mercantile base as business centered around the railroad terminus. Los Angeles provides a similar example of diverse economic growth due to the railroads, particularly in contradistinction to San Diego. Upon securing a railroad connection in 1872 by voting to subsidize Southern Pacific’s construction costs, it tripled from it’s 1870 population of 5,700 by 1876, when the link was actually completed. From the Big Four to the Mass Market :: Economics Economy Essays From the Big Four to the Mass Market From the 1860’s to the 1920’s, the economic landscape of California shifted from a industrialist-centered production economy to a mass market consumption economy. Perhaps the best end posts for this transition are the â€Å"Big Four† of the railroad era in the 1860’s and the mass spec-ulation in oil, restate, and other industries of the 1920’s. In between, the continuous booms of Southern California provided the crucial element of the mass market economy: population. These three elements do more than demonstrate three different economic engines which drove Califor-nia’s growth, however; they also provide examples of the corruption and collusion surrounding the generation of vast amounts of money. Moreover, following the public exposure of such cor-ruption, we see in each case the government stepping in to prevent (or at least mitigate) future cor-ruption. This recurrent theme of explosive growth, the attendant corruption, and the regulation w hich follows is the underlying process behind the evolutionary development of the California economy. Growth Without question, the railroad industry was crucial to the ascension of California as an economic powerhouse. While the Gold Rush placed California on the map in the minds o America (and indeed world-wide), it remained a remote outpost accessible only by a long and expen-sive sea voyage or a long and arduous overland trek, restricting immigration and leaving California an isolated market (Rice, 255). California was destined to grow as an exportdriven economy (a pattern already established by the hide and tallow industry of Mexican California), and it was the transcontinental railroad which unlocked the rest of America as a massive market to absorb California’s richness of resources and products. Furthermore, railroads within California also connected previously isolated regions, and generally increased land values and individual incomes (Rice, 276). Oaklan d is posited by Rice as an archtypical example of urban growth due to railroad con- nectivity, with population growth from around 2000 in 1868 to 35000 in 1880 (277). Growing in more than just population, Oakland became one of the first cities wired for telephones and electricity, and became an industrial and mercantile base as business centered around the railroad terminus. Los Angeles provides a similar example of diverse economic growth due to the railroads, particularly in contradistinction to San Diego. Upon securing a railroad connection in 1872 by voting to subsidize Southern Pacific’s construction costs, it tripled from it’s 1870 population of 5,700 by 1876, when the link was actually completed.