Have you ever seen a steamboat? Robert Fulton designed the first commercial steamboat. This was important considering steamboats could go upstream and they were generally faster than other boats. Commercial steamboats changed the economy, because people could export things much faster. It was also cheaper to use steamboats, as they use a different fuel source.
Many people think that Robert Fulton invented the steamboat, and that is wrong. However, he did design the first commercial steamboat, and that is significant. ”Although Robert Fulton did not invent the steamboat, as is commonly believed, he was instrumental in making steamboat travel a reality”(pbs.org) He had a partner named Robert Livingstone, and they worked partially in Paris and partially in New York(pbs.org). They took the steamboat from the experimental stage, where people were trying to create steamboats that people can use, to the commercial stage, where people were using steamboats
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for business. He designed a hull that a steam engine could work in, and from this he designed a steamboat. The first steamboat that he designed was Clermont, and it debuted on August 17, 1807(pbs.com). He also designed one of the first submarines, named the Nautilus. It was built in 1800. Introduction of commercial steamboats was important for multiple reasons.
Firstly, steamboats went upstream faster.”movement upstream became much easier”(ohiohistorycentral.com). This was a critical development, because other boats went upstream rather slowly since they were battling the current. A steamboat could take people and cargo both directions. It was also faster to use steamboats. A round trip from New York City to Albany and back was only 62 hours“(ohiohistorycentral.com). The trip took thirty-two hours, roughly one-quarter of the time that the voyage had previously taken with a wind-powered vessel. The return trip, going with the current, took only thirty hours.” This seems slow now, but back then it was much faster. This speed was significant since steamboats could move cargo and people about 4 times faster than before. People could get where they wanted to be, and people could export cargo with more efficiency. Again, the trip upstream took only 2 more hours, which was great compared to wind-powered
boats. The introduction of the commercial steamboat brought change mainly to the economy. People could export products faster because steamboats moved faster than other boats. This made a higher demand for products that people exported. Then, people wanted to make products faster so that they could sell them, and they made machines to make them faster. This is part of how the industrial revolution started. Travelling by river also became more popular with the introduction of commercial steamboats.”Fulton’s success on the Hudson generated a wave or public enthusiasm for steamboat building and travel”(encyclopedia.com). This changed the economy since people were spending money buying tickets and spending money in the places that they traveled to. Steamboats were instrumental in the shaping of today’s economy, and Robert Fulton was instrumental in the use of steamboats. He made blueprints for the first successful one, after all. The steamboat was important because it could move faster than previous boats. Steamboats aren’t often used anymore, and some people have never even seen one, but they were once significant.
Transportation improved from the market revolution through many new inventions, railroads, steamboats, and canals. Pressure for improvements in transportation came at least as much from cities eager to buy as from farmers seeking to sell. The first railroad built was in 1792, it started a spread throughout the states. Cumberland which began to be built in 1811 and finished in 1852, known to be called the national road stretched over five hundred miles from Cumberland to Illinois. By 1821, there were four thousand miles of turnpike in the United States. Turnpikes were not economical to ship bulky goods by land across long distance across America, so another invention came about. Robert Fulton created steam boats in 1807; he named his first one ‘Clermont.’ These steam boats allowed quick travel upriver against the currents, they were also faster and cheaper. The steamboats became a huge innovation with the time travel of five miles per hour. It also stimulated agricultural economy of west by providing better access to markets at lower cost. While steamboats were conquering the western rivers, canals were being constructed in the northeastern states. The firs...
Railroads were one of the most used transportation during the Gilded Age, making traveling the United States quicker. This allowed shipping products to other states easier, while keeping the consumers happy. Originally, shipping steel, or other heavy equipment was near impossible until railroads/train could carry mass tons of products.
This time period also saw many new inventions that would change American society forever. Such things as the telephone, radio, and television are things that the average present day American could not imagine living without. But a hundred years ago people were amazed at such things. Railroads were now able to bring people all over the country while steam ships could bring you all around the world and airplanes could let you fly. The horseless carriage turned into the automobile.
New technology allowed faster and more efficient production, but this explosive growth of industry called for not only more resources, but new business practices and leaders as well. Moritz 10-12. Although not a natural resource, railroads are considered one of the key factors in almost every industry. It allowed companies to quickly send products across the entire nation without using expensive and time-consuming caravans or wagons. Cornelius Vanderbilt was a prominent leader in the railroad industry at this time.
Robert Fulton invented the first submersible submarine. This new invention put Fulton’s steamboat ideas on hold. The submarine was for the fast growing British Navy. The British Navy needed an underwater device that could swim under enemy ships and set off explosives. Fulton was American and this invention would make him a celebrity back in the states. Fulton was the head of a 5-10 man team who was inventing this new machine. Fultons main partner was a man named Robert Livingston. Livingston obtained a license for these new machine. This put lots of pressure on Fulton to make sure the sub works. After a couple of tests the mission was completed without any big mistakes. The new Submarine could submerge for 5 hours carrying two men. It was also
The completion of the canal in 1825 led to a two way trade system. Boats would travel East with supplies from the Great Lakes and the surrounding territory and return with settlers and passengers travelling West, which became an extensive business (Johnson 375). The economic success and prosperity of the Canal also provided motivation for the construction of railroads West, including the transcontinental railroad (Seelye 264). The Erie Canal determined the flow of commerce in the United States for over a century (Seelye 252).
The railroad played a major role in forging the history of many countries including the United States of America. The railroad began to bring people to places that before then where only accessed by weeks of dangerous travel over harsh and deadly terrain. The industrial revolution had ushered in a completely new era. The new era was one of mass production, supply and demand, and new requirements of industry. The growth of industry had created new demands for transit, trade, and more robust supply lines. The railroad boom across the U.S. had spread and proceeded to grow the economy quickly therefore, many people began using the rail roads just as quickly. The rail market continued to grow and by the 1860’s all major cities within the United States were connected by rail.
Farmers, who had moved out west looked for a way to send their produce back east. However, roads were far too expensive and inefficient for this. Thus, canals and steamboats were used to link the country commercially and allow for the transport of goods across the nation. The Erie Canal was one of the greatest technological achievements of its time. At 363 miles long it connects New York to the Great Lakes by water (Sheriff 251). The canal provided easy passage halfway across the country for people and goods and sparked a push for westward movement. To travel on these new canals steambo...
The development of canal, steam boats and railroads provided a transportation network that linked different regions of the nation together. When farmers began migrating westward and acquiring land for crops, cheaper forms of transportation provided the means to transfer their goods to other regions for s...
Roads, steamboats, canals, and railroads lowered the cost and shortened the time of travel. By making these improvements, products could be shipped into other areas for profit (Roark, 260). Steamboats set off a huge industry and by 1830, more than 700 steamboats were operating up and down the Ohio and Mississippi River (Roark, 261). Steamboats also had some flaws, due to the fact of deforesting the paths along the rivers. Wood was needed to refuel the power to the boat.
Travel by land and water was both tedious and expensive. Transporting one ton of goods across states would cost around 100 dollars or 1,265 dollars in today’s money. In the 1790s, land routes connecting the east coast and the farther western regions of the United States were undeveloped. Along with this, when weather conditions were poor land routes could not support any sort of dependable shipping by wagon, or even travel by horseback. Natural waterways provided the most dependable method of transport west of Albany. Even travel by waterway in this time period was inconvenient because these water routes were unreliable due to shallow water and raging rapids.
In the end, the transcontinental railroad changed the American landscape both physically and culturally. It formed the foundation for the industrial economy, it produced new business practices and management style of large workforces. It helped established government regulations, taxation and support of public transportation. Above all it drastically changed the American lifestyle, changed where people lived, how they shopped, how they ate, and how they worked.
"Railroads were the first big business, the first magnet for the great financial markets, and the first industry to develop a large-scale management bureaucracy. The railroads opened the western half of the nation to economic development, connected raw materials to factories and retailers, and in so doing created an interconnected national market. At the same time the railroads were themselves gigantic consumers of iron, steel, lumber, and other capital goods". (Tindall, Shi)
Canals, steamboats, and railroads allowed for faster travel of exports and the creation of bigger cities. The invention of the Pony Express, specialized regions, and infrastructure permitted Americans to keep in touch over long distances and the creation of market towns, which inspired a deep, national connection from all corners of the country. The giant leap made by the Transportation Revolution changed America greatly in ways of their economy and
...iling industry and the expansion of the west. The railroads helped these industries expand their territories which not only brought wealth to the large companies but, it also helped create jobs for many people. The railroad industry became an important gateway for immigrants because it introduced them to different opportunities of work and living. The railroad industry also helped to pour money into America’s economy. The railroad industry helped raise economic standards and change the way from an economy based on agriculture to an agriculture base on machinery. The railroads united America as a whole. It was the driving force of the industrial revolution that brought America together as a unity. The industrial revolution wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t for the railroad industry that changed not only the people but, the country as a whole for the next fifty years.