ABSTRACT
The new nation that emerged from the American Revolution still clung to the Atlantic rim, facing England. The dominance of the old Atlantic seaports declined in the early republic. This chapter explains about the Mississippi and Ohio river system Introduced in the 1810s, paddle-wheel steamboats quickly became the dominant mode of transportation in the region. It discusses the premium on rapid growth contributed to unplanned urban expansion. The historians have labeled this early urban configuration the "walking city" because of its size and major mode of conveyance. The chapter explains the Businessmen in San Francisco and other California towns were among the biggest beneficiaries of the Gold Rush. A transcontinental telegraph line in 1861 provided instantaneous communication between California and the East Coast. Los Angeles and San Diego grew much more slowly than San Francisco at first, but there too Anglo settlers and investors moved in and overwhelmed the original Mexican population.
