Because of the expansion of population and economy, the need for trade and supply also expanded. So America developed their means of transportation, communication, and manufacturing. One example of that would be steam power more specifically, Steamboats.
The industrial revolution (1760 to about 1830) was the era of new manufactoring techniques, and when many innovations took place. The era of the steamboat began in America in 1787, during the Industrial Revolution. But before the Industrial Revolution, there was Thomas Savery who patented the first steam engine in 1698. Then, came Thomas Newcomen who improved Savery’s design, and lastly, it wasn 't until James Watt improved the steam engine in the second half of the 18th century that it became such a significant machine, that took part in the Industrial Revolution. After, John Fitch (left) made the first successful trial of a forty-five-foot steamboat on the Delaware River. John Fitch was most famous for operating the first steamboat service in the United States. His steamboats demonstrated the usage of steam for water transportation.
Steamboats were significant because they played a big factor in America’s trading and transportation of people and goods, from one place to another and no longer needed (man) muscle to do it. They revolutionized water travel and trade. Also, later in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Steam-powered boats played an important role in the expansion of the United States to the west.
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.
Railroads were a huge step in innovations for the United States. The transcontinental Railroad was
The railways became an important system that guided settlement and delivered economic opportunity for much of the United States. Railroads allowed access to places that people had no means of getting to and provided an opportunity to develop cities and towns
First, the building of railroads out west played a huge part in the successful expansion of our country and the fulfillment of American dreams. Priot to the development of a more efficient railroad system, the movement of people and freight were
Inventions like the iPhone have paved the road for social, economical, and political improvements. It allowed many opportunities for people to capitalize on whether it be economically like amazon, or socially like youtube as did the railroad that connected the states together. The transcontinental railroad most impacted America economically through encouraging imports and exports amongst the states, making transportation cheaper, and opening up cities along the railroad itself.
New technologies improved agricultural and industrial productivity. Growing cities provided markets and workers for industrial businesses. Products were allowed to reach distant markets because of improved railroad
Another good example that helped the U.S to industrialize rapidly was new technologies. It was also considered the “The Age of Great Invention.” So many new things
Not only were economics majorly revolutionized during this time period but transportation transformed as well. Before the invention of the steam engine, goods were hauled by horse drawn carriages and the journey was a long and difficult one. Robert Fulton was the first to build a steamboat successfully. This caused for a wave of change and soon goods were hauled across the Atlantic (“Industrial Revolution”) After the rapid success of the steamboat, soon steam locomotives began to take the spotlight. The steamboat and locomotive enabled Americans to travel to different parts of the country in less tie add connected the U.S in a way that it had never been before.
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.
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.
Soon other lines followed throughout the country. Railroads affected almost every aspect of American life. The rapid spread of the railroads provided the basis for a tremendous westward movement of population. It also carried raw material to, and finish product from factories to consumers in a more efficient way (The USA online, n.d.). The railways became highly profitable business for their owners.
Transportation and technology advancements were making americans closer because getting from place to place and communicating was getting faster and easier. Trains are much faster than traveling by horse and carriage. The iron industry was sky rocketing because of the railroads being made across the U.S. The telegraph at that time was the fastest way to communicate. The steam boat was also a very fast way to travel because of the many canals being made to connect different lakes, rivers, and oceans. Nationalism was effected by the transportation and technology advancements because they all made the world smaller by the convenience of fast travel and easy communication.
A man by the name of James Watts introduced the first steam powered engine that would soon be used to power several forms of transportation. The steam engine had been around for a while, but wasn’t as advanced and wasn’t used on such a large scale such as powering transportation. Boats had been used for centuries for the main forms of transport, however, when Robert Fulton put the new steam engine to work to power a steamboat, it meant even more capital for businessmen. More jobs were created as the waterways were widened and dug deeper for the steamboats. Captains and crews were also formed to man the boats.
Technology have greatly impacted the transportation field and in effect have completely changed the way the human race travel, the way goods are shipped and the economy of every developed nation. Technology in transportation is not something new, technology have continually had in impact on travel and transportation. This impact can be see ranging from the Viking “Longships”, which were very fast for their times. These Longships facilitated the Vikings expansion and helped them conquer new lands that were hundreds of miles away from their homes (Vikings: Vikings at sea). The railroads in the 1800’s also were a new form of technology, and this technology provided an opportunity for individuals to move farther west to new lands and new opportunities that they never thought would have existed. In our day and age, technology will continue to have a massive impact on transportation.