Laissez-faire policy has always been a fundamental principle of the federal government. It basically allows commerce and trade to operate free from government's controls. From late 18th to mid 19th century, private businesses were at its peak and the government did little to control it. These big industry owners used the monopoly tactic to manipulate all others smaller companies, thus removing competition in the market. However, from 1865 to 1900 policies and views were shifted to a more central focus on the public interests and monopolies began to die out because of the laws and regulations set against them such as the Sherman Anti-trust act and the Interstate Commerce Act.
Railroads became the number one leading transportation of goods and traveling in the country. Building it wasn't easy because it was an expensive venture. Without the assistance of the U.S. government, railroad construction between 1865 and 1900 would have been a failure. Congress provided assistance to the railroad companies in the form of land grants. The land grant to railroads, receiving millions of acres of land, sold the land to make money, built their railroads, and contributed to a more rapid settlement of the West. (Doc D) Although people paid taxes for the creation of the railroads, it returns the favor by expanding the economy. The railroads went to work on these lands and began the eastern-western interaction. Eventually "congress terminated its policy of grants to railroads in the 1870s." (Doc F) As a result, the formation of transcontinental railroads owed it all to the government's aid. .
The economic growth during this time was due largely to industrial expansion and development. Major innovations of the steel industry by Carnegie, electrical energy by Thomas Edison, steamboats by Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company revolutionized American industry. However it affected the public interest in many ways.