Where To next?
Transportation was extremely important for several various reasons. From shipping goods from Georgia to New York or New York abroad. However traveling by land took endless days, sometimes weeks to reach. Not only that, but carrying goods from one place to another was also challenging. Inventors had already utilized water to power their machines- so why not their apply that to their transportation means?
steam Boats & Canals
In 1807, a man by the name of Robert Fulton refined the steamboat. This vessel could navigate the rivers and oceans faster than the original ships. Traveling by water was by far the most efficient way to ship goods and transport people from one place to another. By 1850, around 750 steamboats were in use. They transported products from Delaware, Hudson, and Mississippi Rivers, and along the coastlines. After realizing the benefits gained by water transportation, over 1,000 miles of canals were built. One of the most popular canals was the Erie Canal. This canal connected Ohio Valley at Lake Erie to New York at the Hudson River. Below explains the origin of steam engines.
RAilroads & Bridges
Due to the Steamboat Act in 1838, which enforced guidelines for contrustuction and maintenance of riverboats, people started to utilize railroads. Railroads wouldn't have to deal with bad-weather issues as canals did. In the winter times, canals had the tendency of freezing solid. Railroads ran faster than steamboats overall, pulling merchants to use them more often. Due to these improvements, different areas of the nations started to specialize in certain products. The West supplied food and grain to the Northeast, and farmers in the Ohio Valley transported wheat and corn along the Erie Canal, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers.