Kansas City was only one of several trading centers along the Missouri River in the mid-nineteenth century. And not the largest at that. But it expanded rapidly into the region's leading commercial city while nearby towns showed only moderate growth or were absorbed by their suddenly urban neighbor. Why did Kansas City take off while others stayed behind? Kansas City got the railroads, says Charles Glaab. But major rail lines did not merge in Kansas City by happenstance. In this classic urban study, Glaab illustrates the crucial role entrepreneurship and boosterism played in determining rail locations and consequently urban-growth patterns. To persuade the railroad companies to connect through Kansas City rather than its rivals-Leavenworth, St. Joseph, Westport, Independence, Lawrence, and Athison-local boosters, chief among them journalist Robert T. Van Horn, developed better community policies, formed stronger coalitions, and implemented more effective economic development programs than their neighbors. Political maneuvering, individual decision making, and local promotion of internal improvements, as well as greed and corruption, Glaab contends, played key roles in determining the location of this regional metropolis. Extending beyond the borders and idiosyncrasies of one urban area, Glaab also demonstrates how what happened in Kansas City is representative of what happened across the western half of the United States. First published in 1962, Kansas City and the Railroads remains highly regarded as a landmark study of the forces that shaped the growth of urban America. In this edition, Glaab has included a new preface explaining the development of this study and its relation to the literature that has appeared over the last thirty years.
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Editorial Reviews
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"A valuable contribution to urban history." -- Mississippi Valley Historical Review
"Provides a fascinating study of the development of leadership patterns and the nature of the political process in pioneer communities." -- American Historical Review
"Provides a fascinating study of the development of leadership patterns and the nature of the political process in pioneer communities." -- American Historical Review
From the Back Cover
"This book continues to be one of the best we have on the role of boosters in promoting the development of a major western or midwestern city."--William J. Cronon, author of Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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county subscription, railroad program, city subscription, bridge legend, congressional land grant, railroad plans, bridge victory, railroad leaders, railroad planning, railroad movement, railroad promotion, county bonds, city business leaders, regional metropolis, railroad convention, local promoters, bridge bill, regional supremacy, urban rivalry, railroad boom, city bonds, railroad center, town builders, city leaders, railroad promoters Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Kansas City, Van Horn, Jackson County, Civil War, Union Pacific, Board of Trade, Fort Scott, Kansas River, Clinton Company, Kansas Citians, New York, Clay County, Kansas Valley, Missouri Pacific, Fort Riley, Jefferson City, New West, Chamber of Commerce, Eastern Division, Pacific Railroad of Missouri, Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River, Border Troubles, Mississippi Valley, Missouri Valley New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
county subscription, railroad program, city subscription, bridge legend, congressional land grant, railroad plans, bridge victory, railroad leaders, railroad planning, railroad movement, railroad promotion, county bonds, city business leaders, regional metropolis, railroad convention, local promoters, bridge bill, regional supremacy, urban rivalry, railroad boom, city bonds, railroad center, town builders, city leaders, railroad promoters Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Kansas City, Van Horn, Jackson County, Civil War, Union Pacific, Board of Trade, Fort Scott, Kansas River, Clinton Company, Kansas Citians, New York, Clay County, Kansas Valley, Missouri Pacific, Fort Riley, Jefferson City, New West, Chamber of Commerce, Eastern Division, Pacific Railroad of Missouri, Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River, Border Troubles, Mississippi Valley, Missouri Valley New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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- Fifty Million Acres (The Management of public lands in the United States) by Paul Wallace Gates on 4 pages
- The Civil War: In the Writings of Col. G.F.R. Henderson by G. F. R. Henderson in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- An Overland Journey From New York To San Francisco by Horace Greeley in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Central Route to the Pacific (The Railroads) by Gwinn Harris Heap in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Railroad Promotion and Capitalization in the United States (The Railroads) by Fredercik A. Cleveland in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
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- Consuming Nature: Environmentalism in the Fox River Valley, 1850-1950 by Gregory Summers in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- A History of Missouri (V4): Volume IV, 1875 to 1919 by Lawrence O. Christensen on page 258
- The Urban Wilderness: A History of the American City (Classics in Urban History) by Sam Bass Warner Jr. on page 6
- The City Beautiful Movement (Creating the North American Landscape) by William H. Wilson in Back Matter
- Robidoux's Town by Robert J. Willoughby in Back Matter
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