Why did the US government create time zones and standardized time?

Answer 1

From the beginning noon (12.00) was defined when the sun was in the south, generally in the northern hemisphere. Sunrise would typically occur at 6 and sunset at 18. With the advent of fast communications, namely trains, the need to have synchronised time arose. Otherwise timetables would be very difficult to handle.

Most countries chose one time zone for the whole nation, as it was enough to have national time, and the small deviation from natural time could be tolerated. In countries with larger latitudinal extension, like Russia and United States, it was necessary to divide the country in time zones in a compromise that would allow closeness to natural time and not too many national time systems. Shouldn't that have been the case, and only a single system been adopted, then some people would have sunrise at 4 and sunset at 16, meanwhile others could have sunrise at 8 and sunset at 20, as an average.

Answer 2

The US government created time zones and standardized time to promote uniformity and efficiency in transportation and communication, particularly with the expansion of the railroad network in the 19th century. This helped to establish a consistent system for coordinating schedules and conducting business across different regions.