1. which was the most influential in opening the west? explain. · transcontinental railroad · homestead act · oklahoma land rush 2. which caused the greatest financial difficulty for farmers after the civil war? explain. · railroad rates · hard currency · income tax structure the cause of the greatest financial difficulty among the farmers after the civil war is the income tax structure of the government. the government is recovering money from the people after the war. they need to accumulate a large amount of money to restore the country. they required more taxes from the farmers upon harvest of their crops. 3. which technological innovation in agriculture had the greatest impact on the growth of the west? explain. · mechanical reaper · windmill · steel plow 4. which technological innovation had the greatest impact on the growth of the us into an industrialized society? explain. · steel (bessemer process) · oil 5. who was the most influential businessman of the late 20th century? explain. · john d. rockefeller · andrew carnegie · j. p. morgan · cornelius vanderbilt

1) The most influential in opening the West was the Transcontinental Railroad. The Transcontiental Railroad opened up the West because it gave access to millions of citizens the opportunity to move to western states much quicker and cheaper than previous methods of transportation (such as horse and carriage). Along with this, the railroads allowed for easier trading making it so that Westerners could easily sell their goods to national markets.

4) One could argue that the Bessemer process had the greatest impact on the growth of the US as an industrialized society. The Bessemer Process allowed for the mass production of steel at a much chaper cost than ever before. This resulted in steel being used to build skyscrapers, railroads, etc. None of our current day large cities (New York, Chicago as examples) would have been able to grow if it were not for the Bessemer Process.

5) John D. Rockefeller was arguably the most influential businessman of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. John D. Rockefeller created Standard Oil Company. This company, at its peak, would control 90% of oil made in the US. This made John D Rockefeller the richest man in American history.