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education statistics questions and answers

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The NCES Fast Facts Tool provides quick answers to many education questions (National Center for Education Statistics). Get answers on Early Childhood Education, Elementary and Secondary Education and Higher Education here.

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Trains offer an efficient way to move goods over long distances. Over a third of all freight transport happens via the railway system, but our railroads have not always been as expansive as they are today. Now, we have hundreds of thousands of miles of rail connecting major cities across the country, but this was not the case two hundred years ago. The transcontinental railroad was built in the 1800s to connect Council Bluffs, Iowa, with the San Francisco Bay and revolutionize transport in the U.S.
Origin of the Transcontinental Railroad
The 1850s were a time of westward expansion for the United States. The California Gold Rush and Nevada Silver Rush pushed U.S. Americans further and further west with the promise of economic prosperity. In 1862, Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Bill and several grants that allowed financial support for the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroad companies. These two companies then began constructing what would become the transcontinental railroad.
Social and Economic Impacts
Travel was obviously one of the aspects of U.S. life most impacted by the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Before the railroad, it took almost six months and cost $1000 to travel between California and New York. After the transcontinental railroad was completed, it cost $150 and took one week. For the first time, U.S. Americans could freely travel from coast to coast. This radically changed both business and pleasure travel.

Easier transcontinental business travel allowed direct growth through expanding markets and cheaper distribution, as well as increased possibilities for partnerships and exchange of ideas. This movement between coasts allowed for business professionals to have a more expansive idea of their industry and allowed improved access to information and skills.

Within ten years of the transcontinental railroad's competition, it was already shipping $50 million worth of freight from coast to coast every year. A marked production boom occurred as resources had faster transport to industrial settings, thus speeding up the process of making goods.

Despite the benefits it brought to the U.S., the transcontinental railroad had some negative consequences. Most starkly, the forced relocation of Native Americans from their lands resulted in widespread destruction of Native American cultures and ways of life. Many conflicts arose as the railroad project continued westward, and the military was brought in to fight Native American tribes. In addition, many natural resources were destroyed to make way for the expanding train tracks and stations.
Current State of the U.S. Railroad System
Currently, the U.S. freight rail network has over 140,000 rail miles in operation. This system employees at least 221,000 people throughout the country and is a large part of our transportation industry. For the most part, freight moves through the U.S. by rail and truck, with rail making up 39.50% of shipments.

Our economy depends on our railroad system, but it would not look the way it does today without the construction of the transcontinental railroad. From the 1800s to today, train transport continues to shape our economic and social lives.

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How the Transcontinental Railroad Changed America

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Trains offer an efficient way to move goods over long distances. Over a third of all freight transport happens via the railway system, but our railroads have not always been as expansive as they are today. Now, we have hundreds of thousands

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first transcontinental railroad facts for kids

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fun facts about first transcontinental railroad

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The First Transcontinental Railroad was the first railroad in the United States to connect the West coast to the already existing rail system in Iowa. The First Transcontinental Railroad was a hot topic for many years before construction began.

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On this day in 1930, construction of the Hoover Dam begins. Over the next five years, a total of 21,000 men would work ceaselessly to produce what would be the largest dam of its time, as well as one of the largest manmade structures in the world.

Although the dam would take only five years to build, its construction was nearly 30 years in the making. Arthur Powell Davis, an engineer from the Bureau of Reclamation, originally had his vision for the Hoover Dam back in 1902, and his engineering report on the topic became the guiding document when plans were finally made to begin the dam in 1922.

Herbert Hoover, the 31st president of the United States and a committed conservationist, played a crucial role in making Davis' vision a reality. As secretary of commerce in 1921, Hoover devoted himself to the erection of a high dam in Boulder Canyon, Colorado. The dam would provide essential flood control, which would prevent damage to downstream farming communities that suffered each year when snow from the Rocky Mountains melted and joined the Colorado River. Further, the dam would allow the expansion of irrigated farming in the desert, and would provide a dependable supply of water for Los Angeles and other southern California communities.

Even with Hoover's exuberant backing and a regional consensus around the need to build the dam, Congressional approval and individual state cooperation were slow in coming. For many years, water rights had been a source of contention among the western states that had claims on the Colorado River. To address this issue, Hoover negotiated the Colorado River Compact, which broke the river basin into two regions with the water divided between them. Hoover then had to introduce and re-introduce the bill to build the dam several times over the next few years before the House and Senate finally approved the bill in 1928.

In 1929, Hoover, now president, signed the Colorado River Compact into law, claiming it was "the most extensive action ever taken by a group of states under the provisions of the Constitution permitting compacts between states."

Once preparations were made, the Hoover Dam's construction sprinted forward: The contractors finished their work two years ahead of schedule and millions of dollars under budget. Today, the Hoover Dam is the second highest dam in the country and the 18th highest in the world. It generates enough energy each year to serve over a million people, and stands, in Hoover Dam artist Oskar Hansen's words, as "a monument to collective genius exerting itself in community efforts around a common need or ideal."

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Building of Hoover Dam begins - Jul 07, 1930 - HISTORY.com

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On this day in 1930, construction of the Hoover Dam begins. Over the next five years, a total of 21,000 men would work ceaselessly to produce what would be the largest dam of its time, as well as one of the largest manmade structures in the world.

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The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency

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These challenges are international in scope and are priorities for the Central Intelligence Agency. If you have information about these or other national security challenges, please provide it through our secure online form. The information you provide will be protected and confidential. The CIA is particularly interested in information about imminent or planned terrorist attacks.

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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Global Superpower

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5 Reasons Why the US Remains the World's Only Superpower

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Why Washington can still claim global primacy in the 21st century

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American Revolution

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When the possibility of a clash with the British became real, New England farmers began to arm themselves and train for battle. These troops were dubbed "minutemen" because they could be ready to fight in a minute. This monument to the minutemen stands in Concord, Massachusetts.

How could the Americans ever hope defeat the mighty British Empire in a military conflict?

Americans faced seemingly impossible obstacles. When the guns fired at Lexington and Concord in 1775, there was not yet even a Continental Army. Those battles were fought by local militias. Few Americans had any military experience, and there was no method of training, supplying, or paying an army.

Moreover, a majority of Americans opposed the war in 1775. Many historians believe only about a third of all Americans supported a war against the British at that time.

Further, the Colonies had a poor track record of working together.

How, then, could a ragtag group of patriots defeat the British?

Early Battles

The Battle of Bunker Hill was not a military victory for the colonial forces, but it served as an important morale booster. The colonists inflicted heavy casualties on the larger, more powerful British forces.

The early stages of war, in 1775, can be best described as British military victories and American moral triumphs. The British routed the minutemen at Lexington, but the relentless colonists unleashed brutal sniper fire on the British returning to Boston from Concord.

In June 1775, the colonists failed to prevail at Bunker Hill, but inflicted heavy casualties on a vastly superior military force. A year later, in 1776, while the British occupied New York, Washington led his army to two surprise victories at Trenton and Princeton that uplifted the morale of the patriots.

Regardless, by 1777 the British occupied Philadelphia, the seat of the Continental Congress, and sent that body into hiding. The British also controlled New York City and pretty much had their way in the waters along the Eastern Seaboard. In fact, there was no Continental Navy to speak of at this time. Meanwhile, the British began mounting a southward attack from Canada into upstate New York. This threatened to cut New England off from the rest of the Colonies.

Saratoga and Valley Forge: The Tide Turns

The Battle of Saratoga, in northern New York, served as a critical turning point. The British attempt to capture the Hudson River Valley ended with their surrender to General Horatio Gates in October. Washington, having lost Philadelphia, led his troops to Valley Forge to spend the winter. None of the world's powers had come to the aid of the patriot cause - yet.

In early 1778, the French agreed to recognize American independence and formed a permanent alliance with the new nation. Military help and sizable stores of much-needed gunpowder soon arrived. The tide was beginning to turn.

The surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown marked the end of the Revolutionary War. This painting by John Trumbull is 12 feet by 18 feet and hangs in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building.

A New Type of War

The British grew increasingly frustrated. The loss at Saratoga was humiliating. Capturing the enemy's capital, Philadelphia, did not bring them much advantage. As long as the American Continental Army and state militias remained in the field, the British had to keep on fighting. And no matter how much damage the British did to American cities or private property, the Americans refused to surrender. This was a new type of war.

Having failed in the north, the British turned their attention to the south. They hoped to inspire Loyalist support among dissatisfied Americans - a hope that was never realized. Fighting continued. The threat of French naval participation kept the British uneasy.

A Stunning Defeat

In October 1781, the war virtually came to an end when General Cornwallis was surrounded and forced to surrender the British position at Yorktown, Virginia. Two years later, the Treaty of Paris made it official: America was independent.

How could the Americans ever hope defeat the mighty British Empire in a military conflict? Perhaps an even better question to ask is, How did the mighty British Empire ever expect to vanquish the Americans?

Major Battles of the American Revolution

Sure we've heard the names of the generals and admirals of the American Revolution, but have you heard of Major John Clarke? Probably not . . . because he was America's first master spy.
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Dearest Friend, The Day; perhaps the decisive Day is come on which the fate of America depends. -Abigail Admas (1775). So begins the future first lady's letter to her husband, John Adams, following the Battle of Bunker Hill.
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At the Battle of Saratoga, Benedict Arnold was shot in his left leg and as a result had a limp for the rest of his life. A monument to Arnold's leg can be found at Saratoga National Historical Park.

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When the possibility of a clash with the British became real, New England farmers began to arm themselves and train for battle. These troops were dubbed "minutemen" because they could be ready to fight in a minute. This monument to the minutemen stands in Concord, Massachusetts.

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Atomic Bomb

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In just 27 months, America accomplished what other nations thought impossible. How did the United States achieve the remarkable feat of building an atomic bomb when Germany, Italy and Japan failed? Hundreds of physicists, mathematicians, and engineers were needed to design, build, and test the world's first atomic weapon and the Unites States government did everything in its power to lure these individuals to the Manhattan Project. To Bulgarian-born journalist Stephane Groueff, the Manhattan Project was an outstanding example of the "American way": a combination of creativity, courage to try unorthodox approaches, and a relentless determination to succeed.

Leadership

The Manhattan Project benefited from an unusual number of extremely intelligent, experienced, and effective leaders. Their enormous energy and undaunted spirit carried the project forward despite the odds against its success. Some of these exemplary leaders included the Army Corps of Engineers' General Leslie Groves, physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi, DuPont's Crawford Greenewalt and Kellogg's Percival Keith, MIT's Vannevar Bush, Harvard's James B. Conant, and Berkeley's Ernest O. Lawrence.

To ensure that the nation fully engaged its scientific and technical resources in World War II, Vannevar Bush asked President Roosevelt to create the Office of Scientific Research and Development. As its director, Bush forged an unprecedented alliance between government, academia and industry. Under Bush's direction, the nation's most talented scientists and engineers were mobilized and developed radar, the proximity fuze, and the atomic bomb, inventions that were critical to the Allied victory in World War II.

Industry

One aspect of the Manhattan Project that has been generally overlooked by historians has been industry's contribution. Virtually overnight, the Manhattan Project created a nationwide "factory" that rivaled General Motors in size and scale despite serious wartime shortages of manpower and materials. The battle on the home front was waged without restraint. Crawford Greenewalt of the DuPont Company in Wilmington, Delaware and Percival Keith of the M. W. Kellogg Company in Jersey City, New Jersey, which opened a subsidiary in Manhattan, NY to focus on research for the Manhattan Project, led these efforts.

Science

Over one hundred scientists who had recently fled from the Nazis contributed immeasurably to the effort. America benefited by being one of the few countries during these dark years before and during World War II that opened its doors to these refugees. The "Martians," four brilliant scientists who were born in the same neighborhood in Budapest, Hungary, allegedly earned their nickname from Enrico Fermi. A refugee from Italy himself, Fermi quipped that there must have been a spaceship from Mars that landed in Budapest, dropping off the extraordinarily gifted Edward Teller, Eugene Wigner, John von Neumann, and Leo Szilard. The British mission, led by Sir James Chadwick, also made very important contributions. Well versed in experimental physics, the 20-plus members of the British mission in Los Alamos were instrumental in translating the abstract notions of the theorists into reality.

Workers

The contributions of the Army Special Engineer Detachment servicemen and the many African-American and female workers on the Manhattan Project must be recognized. These groups helped to construct the bombs, build the factories, and keep the Project running. Thanks to the efforts of thousands of individuals at dozens of sites nationwide, the Manhattan Project was able to produce an atomic bomb in a little over two years.

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In just 27 months, America accomplished what other nations thought impossible. How did the United States achieve the remarkable feat of building an atomic bomb when Germany, Italy and Japan failed? Hundreds of physicists, mathematicians, and engineers were needed to design, build, and test the world's first atomic weapon and the Unites States government did everything in its power to lure these individuals to the Manhattan Project.