Game Changers Research Paper

At first, overland travel was slow and expensive, and the west was isolated from the rest of the nation. Canals, steamboats, and railroads began to appear, resulting in faster travel, cheaper transport, and greater economic growth. The Erie Canal, completed in 1825, connected New York City to the Great Lakes. It cut the trip time from twenty days to six days and made it much cheaper to ship goods, which later inspired many new canal projects. Additionally, steam engines used the steam produced by boiling water to drive machinery. They were developed as a new source of power in the early 1700s and improved by James Watt in 1765 to be used in factories and for transportation. In 1807, Robert Fulton used the idea of steam power to built one of the first boats powered by a steam engine. These steamboats could travel against the wind and against river currents, increased the speed and lowered the costs of river travel and shipping, and opened up the South and West to more travel and trade. Furthermore, in the 1830s, railroads were developed. Steampowered locomotives pulled trains of cars. Travel by train was faster than travel by horse and trains carried more cargo than other land transportation did. Thus, railroads could be built where there were no rivers. Before long, railroads spread rapidly across the United States and the miles of railroad tracks increased from 3,000 miles in 1840 to 30,000 in 1860. They were concentrated in the North, made shipping cheaper and faster, linked the East and the West, and helped industry

“The water-frame used the waterpower from fast-flowing streams to drive spinning wheels.” (course reader 102) Then there was the introduction of the steam engine and power-loom. Due to an expired patent, James Watt decided to create his version of the steam engine for use in a cotton mill plant and introduced a system for the factory that was revolutionary. As a result, wages and manufacturing of cotton and iron really increased. This helped get more work done in less time and gave people jobs. (Document 2) The steam engines also helped get the economy ramped up by being able to bring supplies to the cities and more jobs to people. The steam engines provided jobs because they needed miners, engineers, and sailors who could build the canals and railroads for this transportation. As a result, they could bring supplies to the cities which also increased farmland available to produce more food for everyone. (Document 3) The steam engine brought in railroad development, industrialization and changes to the population. (Document 9) With the growth of railways and transportation, from 1801-1851, many cities were developed within the central part of Great Britain and the population

During the Antebellum era there were a large number of advancements in transportation technology, such as railroads being placed all over the United States. There was also the building of numerous bridges and canals, and the development of the steamboat. During the pre-civil war period there was a huge expansion of railroads all over the country According to the web site quizlet, “From 1833 to 1850 the amount of railroad tracks increased from 136 miles to 9,000 miles” (http://quizlet.com). The first steam engine was built in 1804 by Richard Trevithick. The steam engine that was most commonly used on rail ways was that built by George Stephenson. According to Mary Bellis the author of The History of Railroad Innovations, “Stephenson's locomotive pulled six loaded coal cars and 21 passenger cars with 450 passengers over 9 miles in about one hour” (http://inventors.about.com). The growth of railroad use was a huge advancement in technology, because it helped transport people and goods to

. New inventions sprouted the northern economy. Most of these inventions were to help laborers produce products faster and easier. For example, in 1846, Elias Howe invented a sewing machine, later improved by Isaac Singer, that gave workers the ability to make dozens of shirts in the time it took a tailor to sew one by hand. One invention allowed faster and easier transportation of goods and people. Railroads were first built 1800s to provide transportation to canals, but soon were developed for more practical means of transportation. An English family built a steam-powered locomotive in 1829, which allowed people to travel from town to town and transport goods at speeds up to 30 mph, linking towns together along the way, later becoming new markets for factory goods. Another

The 1800’s were a period of technological rapid growth and change for America. The Industrial Revolution was in full force, and new advances were made in substantial numbers. One of these breakthroughs was the steam engine powered locomotive, which was first used in 1830. Railroads were built all over the east coast and encouraged travel and commerce among cities east of the Missouri River. By 1850, there were almost 9,000 miles of railroad tracks on the east coast, but very little on the west coast. In 1862, Abraham Lincoln passed the Pacific Railroad Act, which permitted the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads to begin building the transcontinental railroad. The Central Pacific Railroad would begin building in Sacramento, and the

Another great invention of transportation during this time was the train. America’s first train was invented by George Stephenson in 1822, and by 1825 the train was the first locomotive. Obviously everything at this time was made by hand, and every part of this engine had to be hammered into shape just like a horseshoe. John Thorswall, a coalmine blacksmith, was George’s assistant. The invention of George was very important in America because it allowed transportation from place to place in a quicker time. This boosted the economy by helping distribute many goods all around the country. Even letters were being delivered faster, so communication was increasing.

Next onto the importance of George Stephenson and his fine invention was to transport material such as coal and coal and other materials, mostly because coal was way too important in England during that century, fun fact, did you know children would be sent into the coal mines, keep in mind the coal mines were dark and scary for the children, let’s not forgot about how easily you could injure yourself

The Transcontinental Railroad could not have been achieved without the invention of the locomotive. The idea of the locomotive was first thought of by James Watt in 1769. Watt had a patent on the design of the locomotive engine but never really developed the idea. The benefits of the locomotive did not become a reality until an Englishman named Charles Stephenson developed the first

also transformed people’s lives with the emphasis on ‘fine craftsmanship’ which showed the importance of steam power; showing the sheet form of modernisation taking place in Britain by the active innovations by people. The emergence of steam power he reckons was the ‘greatest revolution in economic history’ and would really transform the lives of ordinary people by them employing thousands of labourers to make their jobs easier and more efficient to do. The steam power enabled the building of steam engines which local businessmen in the words of Wilkes saw as an ‘opportunity to make a fortune’. This would have been due to the sheer amount of trade being able to be transported and travel across the country by steam powered engines and iron railways and the locomotion being transformed into a usable feature. By 1820, there were 15,000 miles of railway track in Britain and by the first official commercial use of railway being in 1830 showing the change over the short period of time as now people were able to use this method of transportation to shorten their journey times and seek a better and efficient way to travel. The success of railways allowed coal, timber and cattle to be moved along the tracks and allowing ordinary businessmen and farmers to expand their profits and make

During the industrial era, the most important mechanism invented was the steam engine. This machine was improved in 1764 by James Watt, a British inventor, allowing it to generate more electricity. Although when the Industrial Revolution started around 1760, farming machines were highly important such as the cotton gin. The steam engine bridged the gap between the north and the south, allowing great technological advancements. In this instance, the steam engine was used in steam boats, allowing people to travel with goods to the northern or southern states. This allowed the southern states to become more agricultural with farming machines, and the northern states to have more organic materials. In addition, until the steamboat was invented,

The industrial revolution, contrary to many beliefs, was a negative for the world. Although there were many positives, the environmental damage and the division of middle class from the lower class created many short and long term negatives. The amount of pollution and new emergence of new disease was partly caused by the invention of the Steam train. The steam train, invented in 1803 by Richard Trevithick, was viewed as an overall positive but came with many hidden negatives. The environment trembled under the steam and the population explosion created commercial train lines which people used to get into the city.

The steam engines trains were ran off coal. George Stephenson also created the first public steam engine train in 1824. With all the pain the gain started to show. After all the revolution with transport the trading routes started to begin. Even though this period in history produced long term gain, it was also how ever a time of short term pain to the people who were living and work in major

Consequently, cargo would also arrive safer because roads during this time were not like what they were today. Often times the horse cart would break a wheel or get stuck in the mud. Roads at this time were not reliable and were not always well maintained. Also, this would lead to construction projects taking much less time than it previously would. This once more would save time in how long the project took, and save money paying workers to build the project. Overall, this savings in time , safer cargo travel, and overall improvements in the quality of life shaped by the steam railway system would be felt for numerous years to

Luckily, Colonel Stevens received the first ever railway grant in 1815 to construct the New Jersey Railroad Company. By 1826, Stevens tested the first steam-engine train in the United States, known as the “Steam Wagon.” The “Steam Wagon” relied on the power of steam to move. Coal was shoveled into something called a “firebox.” The heat created from the burning coals was used to convert water into steam. Smoke was released through the chimney while the heat boiled the water, which created steam. The steam was then relocated to the cylinders through the steam pipes, where they created the power to move the wheels of the train. It did take some time to build up enough steam to start move the train. However when enough steam was built up, the conductors of the train would blow the whistle to signal being ready to leave the station.

In addition with the invention of the steam engine came the steam locomotive. As the development of steam engines progressed through the 18th century, various attempts were made to apply them to road and railway us. In 1812 Matthew Murray was the first to build a successful steam locomotive, and it hauled 27 carts of around 95 tonnes at 3 mph. Accompanied with this came Richard Trevithick’s 40 psi steam locomotive, The Penydarren Locomotive, “the world's first ever railway journey that ran 9 miles from the ironworks at Penydarren to the Merthyr-Cardiff Canal, South Wales.” This creation lead to many more innovations, which will lead to speedy land travel for goods and products.