The Railroad and the State is the first book to examine as a coherent whole the complex and changing relationship between the U.S. Army and American railroads during the nineteenth century. It details the Army's role in the development of the preeminent technology of the era, including the assignment of military engineers to assist early railroad planning and construction, the military use of railroads during the Civil War, and the exchange of military protection for cheap transportation in the American west. The book's objective is to deepen the reader's understanding of the role of the military in technological change and industrial development and of the relationship between the military and private enterprise in nineteenth-century America. It is intended for audiences interested in American military history, American economic and industrial history, the history of technology, and the history of the American West, as well as the history of railroads.