This is a picture of the Switchback Railroad in the early 1800's. It is located in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania (which is my hometown) and was built just a few decades after the American Revolution. It was designed to haul anthracite a 9 mile distance from the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Mines in Summit Hill to coal chutes above the lehigh river in Mauch Chunk which is now Jim Thorpe. These loaded cars of coal took approximately one half-hour rolling dowhill by gravity to reach its destination. The uphill trip took 3 - 4 hours. After about 50 years of operation, the railroad was sold and opened to be a tourist attraction to give people the joy of letting gravity give them a nice relaxing fun ride down the side of a mountain. It wasn't long after this that it was declared the worlds first rollercoaster and the idea of amuzment parks was brought about. It was in operation for over 100 years until in 1932 when it fell victim to the Great Depression. It is now a historical site and to this day attracts many and many of tourists from all over the world.I chose this picture because it not only represents america, but also the town where i grew up. The picture shows what it was like for american workers before technology developed and how hard life was living in that era. Everything consisted of hard physical labor for hours a day which is not what this country developed to. Today everything is more diverse and less hard labor jobs. This picture just goes to show what things were like in the 18 and early 1900's and how much things have changed and developed in the past 100 years.