Stagnation in the 1800's? Keep in mind this was the century that saw the invention and spread of the railroad, the invention and spread of a nearly instant glob

Stagnation in the 1800's? Keep in mind this was the century that saw the invention and spread of the railroad, the invention and spread of a nearly instant global communication medium with the telegraph, the telephone, the moving picture, photography, the typewriter, large-scale mechanized factories with the spread of steam power, etc.