Independent from Nature

We've spent a lot of time talking about how landscape influence society, from the fear of wilderness to the freedom expressed by American lands. It has the ability to push people in directions. It's an evolutionary pressure of sorts; Puritans fearing the wild were forced to create tight communities, which had its own set of implications. The abundance of fertile soil Tocqueville cited was the foundation for American Individual success, which also had another set of results. Then we reach the railroad. Once again, nature puts forth a circumstance. Farmers are tired of the mud Mother Nature put in front of their wagons, and sick of not being able to travel under rainy conditions. So once again, the human race over comes, trying to free themselves from mother nature's clutches. They created a monster of steel which could power through any conditions. This, also, had its own effects. It created chaos at first, with various companies setting their own standards. But after some standardization there was an influx of freight an passengers able to move across the country, time zones, and lowered transportation costs. There were also those that disliked this new development. They were powerless to slow the movement of progress.