The invention of the steam-powered train and the expansion of rail lines across the continent of North America revolutionized shipping and travel. For the first time in human history, people and cargo could safely and reliably travel long distances in a matter of days rather than months or years. And by the end of the 19th century, the United States stretched from coast to coast, and railroads helped to connect the nation and turn it into a global superpower.

Although railroads and trains helped to bolster the United States economy and revolutionize travel , they presented a unique problem in that the time that people observed on the East Coast of the United States was not compatible with those living on the West Coast. Time zones were invented to mitigate this problem.

For the most

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