1815-1848 Research Paper

Unfortunately, with few exceptions, navigable rivers and lakes did not link up conveniently to form usable transportation networks. Before the war of 1812m some Americans considered canals as a likely solution, but enormous costs and engineering problems had limited canal construction to less than 100 miles. After the war, the entry of development opened the way to an era of canal building. New York State was most successful at canal development. In 1817 the state started work on on a canal that would run over more than 350 miles’ form Lake Erie to the Hudson River. About three thousand workers worked on digging a huge ditch that would eventually form the Erie Canal. The last leg was completed in 1825 and the first freight boat made its way from Buffalo to Albany and then on to New York

Railroads were faster and cheaper than canals to construct, and they did not freeze over in the winter. Steamboats played a vital role in the United States economy as well. They stimulated the agricultural economy of the west by providing better access to markets at a lower cost. Farmers quickly bought land near navigable rivers, because they could ship their products out to other countries. Due to the foreign trade it helped strengthen the trade relationship between New England and the Northwest. The transportation development had many positive economic changes in the United States.

One of the most important goals of transportations in the 1800s was the advancement of industrial growth. Henry Clay, a senator for Kentucky had an economic plan called the American System, with plans for a national bank, improved tariffs, and most importantly, a canal system. The canal system was quickly dominated by railroad, however the canals paid for themselves quite quickly. This was due to the canal's ability to connect the midwest and east coast and cut costs for transporting goods across the US. Steamboats not only allowed for the mass transport of goods on the canals, but they also for human transport, as they could travel from Albany to NYC in around thirty-two hours. As rivers and canals became the commonplace and most efficient way to transport goods cities along the rivers prospered and grew in population and power. Cincinnati for example had its population quadruple in size from 10,000 to 40,000 from 1820-1840 and Louisville's population grew from 10,000 to 60,000 from 1830-1850. Eventually though, canals were made obsolete by development of railroads.

In the early 19th century the transportation of goods between the east and west was expensive and time consuming. The normal way of transportation before the canal, was by horse drawn carriages. Then the bold idea of the Erie Canal was proposed to ease the tiring commute. The Erie canal was intentionally built to open the country west of the Appalachian Mountains to settlers. The canal would also provide a safe, cheaper way for produce to be carried to various markets. The canal then became the fastest way

Numerous factors brought unity to an adolescent nation which prevailed the confidence Americans needed for self-identity. As rapid mass-communication and transportation became easily available, any individual had the luxury of pursuing a life with personal freedoms just a grasp away. Moving west was made attractive for numerous reasons. For example, shipping products such as beaver fur enable a fashionable trend which sparked a demand in garments. The construction of the Erie Canal in 1825 that connected the Great Lakes with the Hudson River boomed the motivation, whether it was cost effective or not, completing miles into small distances, according to a journalist, “In thirty-six minutes we had passed near three miles, and reached the east of an embankment about 136 chains long across the valley of the Sedaqueda creek”. This economic process boomed with new opportunities for average Americans during the Era of Good Feeling. The early republic also had more busted effects from internal

Transportation began to fuel the American economy during the Market Revolution by adding many different ways to transport goods and to get around the country. These roads were made of mud, which happened to be quite an issue during the different seasons. In the spring,all roads turned to mud, in the summer all roads were dust and in the winter these roads were snow and ice which made it difficult to travel on. The national road was made and was the only road funded by the national government, all of the other roads were funded by private investors. The national road opened up travel through the East and the West, which began to help foster a national community. Canals were starting to expand from not only running North and South, but creating ways to get East and West as well.The farmers began an eight year long project, which was taken over by Irish immigrants and they created the Erie

Before railroads, cities were normally built on coasts or rivers, because the most effective way to ship goods was by boat. Traveling on land required horses and wagons, that mean it took extremely long time and had very low capacity. This meant that people could not transport fresh goods nor big loads of foods more than a few miles. Many people settled nearby rivers and coasts, so that they can receive goods they needed, or they could ship anything they produced. By 1828, the nation's first commercial railroad began, 32 years later the railroad network had grown to 30,000 miles long. It offered fast, reliable, had massive capacity, and made inland trade possible. Then cities began to emerge along the railroad lines, and big numbers of people began to move to these new cities for profit and new opportunities west of the Mississippi River. During the same time, the telegraph made it possible for much smoother communication throughout the nation. Using Morse code, a method of transmitting messages could be sent over electric wires, with each letter and number represented by its own pattern of electrical pulses. Initially, the telegraph was a service meant for businesses, and especially newspapers, rather than personals. It help speed the flow of information and brought uniformity to prices throughout the

Canals, waterways built for transportation, were also built for the shipment of goods and with the creation of the steamboat, canals could be used effectively. Another totally new form of transportation, the railroad, was created and by the time the 1860s hit, more than 30,000 miles of railroad tracks had been set down. Lastly, the telegraph

Novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote that "Its water (served as a miraculous) fertilizer, (for) it causes towns with their masses of brick and stone, their churches and theatres, their business...to spring up." In its financing by the state government, the Erie Canal epitomized the developing transportation infrastructure. The vast expanse of the Erie Canal created a network that linked the Atlantic states with the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys that drastically reduced the cost of transportation. While canals connected waterways, the railroad opened vast new areas of the American interior to settlement, while stimulating the mining of coal for fuel and the manufacture of iron for locomotives and rails. By 1860, the railroad network had grown to 30,000 miles, a total more than the rest of the world 's railroads combined. The United States was able to grow following the War of 1812 due to innovations in transportation which allowed for cheaper, faster, and more efficient trading of goods within the United States.

This made it very hard for the individual states to come up with the money. Usually private investors took care of this issue (Roark, 260). Canals were another way for an increase in transportation. They would connect cities, such as the Erie Canal, which covered the area between Albany and Buffalo and connecting New York City to the area of the Great Lakes (Roark, 261). Railroads also came into the picture with the first railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio in 1829 (Roark, 262).

The Erie Canal being one very famous example of how this all changed. The Erie Canal was proposed in 1808 but wasn’t completed until 1825, it was a canal that linked the waters of Lake Erie to the Hudson River. The Erie Canal at the time was engineering marvel to the world, partially because of the 568 foot rise from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, it used a large amount of aqueducts and locks to do so. The Canal by 1830, had carried more than $15 million worth of goods and product annually. The Canal eventually had to have an increase in size from what was originally 4 feet deep and 40 feet wide into a massive 70 feet wide and 7 feet deep, allowing boats to also increase load size from the usual; 30 tons of freight to a whopping 240 tons of weight. In the time between 1836 to 1862 is when the enlargement occurred, and by 1850 the annual figure rose from $15 million to $200 million. Giving it a large impact on the flow of economy through transportation.

Life in the 1840’s was very busy for men, women, and children alike. Everyone in the states had to contribute their fair share of work, and had little time for leisure. America was a new country, the colonies had expanded to 26 states, and it was a hectic time for westward expansion. At this time, most immigrants lived a rural lifestyle on small family farms. There were few people wealthy enough to own plantations, which were run by mostly slaves who received no pay, harsh treatment, and had no chance of escape. Tensions were high between the slaves and the immigrants, and the Civil War would be occurring soon. While men did all of the hard labor, such as farming and hunting,

This essay is going to discuss the events that occurred between the time period of 1789-1860. One of them was the conflict that congress cannot set limits of U.S armed forces. Congress has declared war about 5 times in the U.S history. The military went to many different states & cities, It was over 99 million people in the military, many people give their lives up to protect and fight for our country & we don't even take the time to appreciate or mention them in any way.

Before the time of the Erie Canal, America was still developing a railroad system. Since shipping items to parts of New York was hard and time consuming they needed a new way to get items around the state of New York. The Erie Canal took about 7 years to build but with its creation came easier transportation of goods around the state of New York. The Erie Canal became a method of transportation for immigrant around America as well. New York became a commercial city in the United States due to the Erie

Transportation was improved. New forms of transportation included steam power, improved roads, railroads, bridges, canals and ships. These new improved mean of transportation allowed people to travel cross country and to ship goods to new markets in a matter of days as opposed to months. The railroads eventually became the nation’s number one transportation system, and remained so until the construction of the interstate highway halfway during the Twentieth century. The late 19th century belonged to the railroads. They were of crucial importance in stimulating economic expansion (American History).