“Many Americans viewed banking as a form of usury, while others leveraged the power of credit to seek their fortune in the American West. Antebellum finance was centered around the expansion of railroads, which led to the construction of 24,476 miles of rail by July 1, 1857. Thousands of Americans moved West in search of their fortune in the 1850s, an experience that coincided with speculation in land and railroad securities.”
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