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First Steamboat
The first steamboat made the very first trail August 22, 1787 on the Delaware River. The steam-powered boats could travel at the astonishing speed of up to five miles per hour. The first was made by John Fitch. He built a larger vessel and carried people from Philadelphia and Burlington, New Jersey. -
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Changes in Transportation
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Advantages and Disadvantages
Until the Steamboat, the people had no other transportation besides animals. And the steamboat long-distance travel up stream was very useful.Steamboats were often useful but, they were not regulated and killed a lot of people due to boiler explosions from unsafe designs. Steamboats also cost alot of money to maintain -
John Stevens
built a steamboat with a new high-pressure steam engine.They were used to promote trade. -
Canals
Canals are man-made waterways. By building canals, you could connect cities by water and make inland transportation quicker and easier.Not only were goods able to be transported faster, but the cost went down as well. The cost of inland transportation plummeted from $100 a ton to less than $8 a ton. -
first railroads
Railroads completed what the canals had begun, tying the United States together economically. The construction of the first railroads began in America in the 1820s, pushing outward from the Eastern seaboard to the western interior. -
first American railway
named the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O). After the success of the B&O in Maryland, many other companies began building railroads. However, many problems emerged. Railroads were expensive and were hastily built. There were many accidents and delays. -
Robert Livingston Stevens
solved this problem by designing an iron T-shaped rail. After this invention, railroads grew from three thousand miles to thirty thousand miles in only 20 years. Shipping costs greatly decreased and industry expanded. This also contributed to the Market Revolution.
