By 1910, the national system of inland waterways that had linked together the cities in 1850 had been replaced by a nationally integrated system of railways and steel rails.
Those cities that were well-connected to the national railway system tended to grow at the expense of those that were less accessible. New Orleans, for example, fell from #5 in 1850 to #14 in 1910. In the other direction, Chicago, with its extensive access to the Midwest via many railways, rose from #18 to #2.
The country was rapidly becoming more urban. Both the size of individual cities and the percentage of people living in urban places were rapidly on the rise.
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