Steamboats In The 1800's

During the Antebellum Period, America had tremendous growth in its economy. America was a new country and industrialization just began developing in the north. Various methods of transportation accelerated industrialization by moving goods and people quickly, efficiently, and cheaply. “Transportation was the most important business in the 19th century,” T.J Stiles told “History”. “When opportunities presented themselves they almost always were in transportation.” Americans living in the North could access cheaper crops from the south while those in the South could purchase farming tools for cheaper prices because of how easy it was to transport items. People who were responsible for improvements of transportation were Cornelius Vanderbilt, Dewitt Clinton, and John Loudon McAdam. They greatly influenced America’s railways, canals, and turnpikes.

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.

The industrialists of the late 19th century were “captains of industry” because they created new industries that further flourished the United States and its economy. Railroad tycoons such as “Cornelius Vanderbilt, James J. Hill, and Jay Gould” created the “transcontinental railroad [that] would allow for settlement of the west, new markets for eastern manufacturers, and relief to overcrowded eastern cities” (“Binding the Nation by Rail” 1). The railroad system connected those who are thousands of miles away and allowed goods to reach parts of the United States that it could not previously. As a result, the prices of goods dropped a

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.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said once: “When it’s errands are noble and adequate, a steamboat bridging the Atlantic between Old and New England and arriving at its ports with the punctuality of a planet, is a step of man into harmony with nature.” Steamboats were essential to moving goods quickly without delay and people efficiently, which changed the face of the Earth. It changed the entire world with how fast it moved and it’s machinery and created a better way to travel over oceans. Robert Fulton is credited with creating the steamboat however, he only created the first functional and commercially successful steamboat. Born in Pennsylvania on November 14th, 1765, he spent lots of time in Lancaster, a hub of intellectual people and technology. After inventing the first submarine, he attempted multiple times to attack British naval ships with them. The French employed him for his experimental boats as they were in a war with Britain at the time, but after seeing that his boats were unsuccessful, they essentially fire him. The British sent an agent to recruit Fulton to create contingencies to submarine attacks. After working with them, he brought back a fully operational Watt steam engine. Using this, Robert Fulton invented

Trains can offer an efficient way to transport goods over very long distances, it's not a surprising fact in the 1850’s T’was a time of westward expansions for the united states, as the gold rush’s of both california and nevada pushed Americans further right into the heart of the west to have them prosper into a super power.

The first steamboat, which came to be known as the Clermont, was constructed by Robert Fulton in 1807. This development in transportation was huge. People could now ride rivers upstream as well as downstream, regardless of winds, waves, or tides. Steamboats were an important invention because they played a vital role in the opening of the West and the South, both of which had many easily navigable rivers. Towns soon began to develop along the banks of often-traversed rivers. Now farmers could ship in and out their produce and any manufactured necessities at a much lower cost.

The time period largely known as the "Gilded Age" was centered around big business which caused sharp economic and social class divisions as well as political corruption that led Americans to progressive reform. From the ashes of the Civil War, a second industrial revolution was born which ushered in new innovations and technological advances that drastically changed American life. As a result, business became powerful and controlling on the economy, created difficult working conditions, and influenced politics through manipulation and corruption. Americans poured into the country at a outstanding rate during the "Gilded Age", creating a supply of workers for the various jobs opportunities all over the country. The railroad was one of the biggest innovations in the late 19th century.

There was an abundance of natural resources during this time period. The forests provided the wood needed to heat the rising growth of the factories and to supply paper for the increase of books and newspapers. The transportation growth provided people with a way tp receive literature in distant areas. Sawmills had to use the waterwheel for power. The steamboats pummeled a pathway through the rivers, but also deforested the land in their pathway. This brought about America’s first issue with air pollution.

The Transcontinental Railroad was one of the most ambitious engineering projects, economic stimulants, and efficient methods of transportation in the early United States. If completed, the United States would be truly be united from east to west. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the Transcontinental Railroad helped develop new opportunities for many aspects of American life.

Nineteenth century America was a time of rapid growth and expansion. The movement of settlers further and further west accompanied by technological advances led to the major growth of cities and industries across the American frontier. However, it was the major innovations of transportation that had the most significant impact on the expansion of Midwestern and western America. The construction of canals and roads led to the increase in the use of stagecoaches, steamboats, and ultimately railroads.

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.

There was a need for this invention because of communication, trade, and travel. Ever since the steamboat communication could be sent more than one way out. Most

Where did the pontoon boat first come from? Who first decided to reinvent the boat and when did it happen? These are the historical questions that we will be discussing in today’s article. The basic idea of a pontoon boat can be traced back to various ancient civilizations, but modern day pontoon boats are only about 50 to 60 years old. While both of these types of pontoon boats, ancient and modern, had the same idea behind them their operation, they had some differences as well.

Next introduced were steamboats. Shipping by steamboats was cheaper and faster. If one used a wagon, there was the cost of lifting the cargo off the ground and keeping it there as well as the cost of moving the vehicle forward. A water vessel had the advantage of only having the cost of moving forward because the water lifted the cargo. The shallow draft steamboat, however, could carry large amounts of cargo even against the flow of a river. Robert Fulton's Clermont proved the practicality of steamboats in 1807. The Enterprise was introduced by Henry Shreve in 1814 and proved to be the answer to transportation across shallow western waters. By 1820, there were 60 steamboats on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and countless others elsewhere.