Manufacturing and Transport

• New modes of transport brought modernity to how people did business and traveled
• These changes had profound and lasting environmental consequences

Manufacturing and Transport

• Manufacturing growth in the North relied on transport improvements
• From 1800-1850, roads and canals were built for thousands of miles
• Canals connected lakes and rivers, establishing new shipping routes
• Railroad expansion in the 1840s and 1850s sped up overland goods transport
• Faster and easier transportation aided industrial expansion
• Factories could source raw materials from farther away due to transport improvements
• Factory owners could access distant markets

Transportation Revolution

• The 1800s saw a Transportation Revolution in the U.S.
• This involved rapid growth in the speed, convenience, and ease of trave
• Shipping cost and time reduction led to a business boom country-wide
• By 1835, the Hudson River was joined to the Mississippi, connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico
• Steamboats and steam-powered trains facilitated these improvements, enabling quick transport of goods, people, and information

Steamboats

• River transport was usually preferred for its speed and comfort versus roads
• Moving boats upstream was challenging, requiring paddles or ropes
• Downstream travel from Pittsburgh to New Orleans took about 6 weeks one way
• The return could take 17 weeks
• Robert Fulton launched the Clermont steamboat in 1807, ushering in river travel revolution
• The Clermont traveled from New York city to Albany in 62 hrs
• Steamboats moved upriver, ideal for river travel without reliance on wind or currents
• They carried passengers along the Atlantic coast and revolutionized travel in the West
• Steamboats on the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri rivers gave farmers cheaper and faster ways of moving goods
• By 1840, there were over 500 steamboats in the U.S., but they could be dangerous due to fires and boiler explosions
• From 1811 to 1851, 44 steamboats collided, 166 burned and over 200 exploded
• Canals were widened and deepened in the 1840s to accommodate steamboats
• About 3,000 steamboats traveled the rivers, canals and Great Lakes by 1860
• Steamboats spurred city development along waterways, powering ships across the ocean

Early Railroads

• Steam-powered trains developed in Great Britain in the 1800s, and the train did for land travel what the steamboat did for water travel
• They did not become popluar in the U.S. until the 1830s
• U.S. railroads were initially short tracks connecting mines and rivers, using horse-drawn carts
• Peter Cooper designed and built the first American steam locomotive, called the Tom Thumb, in 1830
• The Tom Thumb raced a horse-drawn rail car and lost, but the event popularized railroads
• By 1840 America had about 2,800 miles of track
• Farmers feared railroads running through their fields
• Teamsters feared job loss
• Canal investors feared competition
• Reliability and safety were concerns
• British railroads ran on straight tracks, but U.S. railroads went over mountains and rivers
• Companies built tracks fast with inexpensive materials, leading to accidents
• Early locomotives broke down, had soft roadbeds, and weak bridges
• Locomotives emitted noise, smoke, and hot embers
• Wooden rails replaced with iron. Heavier, faster, more powerful locomotives built
• Sturdier bridges constructed and tracks placed on solid roadbeds

Railroad Expansion

• By 1860 there were 30,000 miles of Eastern U.S. railroads, mainly in the North and West
• They connected cities like New York, Chicago, and Cincinnati
• The economy surged forward
• Railroads transported the Industrial Revolution's goods
• Railroad companies became powerful businesses
• As the railroad system grew, manufacturers and farmers could send their goods to distant markets

Changes from the Transportation Revolution

• The Transportation Revolution made it easier and cheaper to access distant markets
• People accessed goods from far away, creating a national economy, though most of the wealth was centered in the North
• Railroads guided population growth and contributed to the settlement and industrialization of the Midwest
• Faster and safer train travel brought people to Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, spurring growth and industries
• Railroad junctions became towns, like Chicago, which grew rapidly
• Transportation hubs linked the Midwest to the East
• Towns without railroads suffered

A New Fuel

• The Transportation Revolution increased natural resource usage
• Wood was the primary fuel source
• Coal replaced wood as faster locomotives developed because a half ton of coal yields as much energy as 2 tons of wood
• Coal became popular for home heating, transported by railroads
• Mining for coal developed in Pennsylvania, western Virginia, and Illinois
• New towns emerged, like Coal City and Carbondale in Illinois, where coal deposits existed

Industry Development

• As coal demand increased, so did steel demand due to it's strength
• Steel was used to build factories, machines, and train rails fueling the need for more railroads
• Railroads also brought steel farming tools and machines to farmers in the Midwest
• Farmers produced more crops and railroads transported their harvets to markets
• Railroads spurred growth of other businesses like logging and newspaper
• Logging became the primary product of New England
• Settlers out west cut down trees and plowed up prairies to make farmland, resulting in large-scale deforestation