How did new modes of transportation affect migration?

The invention of steamboats and trains greatly increased the rate people could move around and the amount of people that were able to move. Citizens from many small towns were able to move around efficiently and quickly to new cities. The invention of the automobile in the later nineteenth century allowed people who usually walked from place to place to transport themselves in a car. Although the automobile was very limited to the richer and upper class in the early days of its creation, steamboats and trains made quick access to cities for all classes possible. Although much of this transportation was restricted to certain areas and many modes of moving around were subject to bandits and robberies, it was a great step in the technological movement, leading up to the modern day technologies.

    Steamboat of the early 1860's

    An early automobile circa 1886

Sources:

"Time.com." Business Money The Economics of Immigration Who Wins Who Loses and Why Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.