The Steamboat
With James Watt’s groundbreaking invention of an efficient steam engine came a handful of follow up inventions that drastically changed the American life. The first of these was the steamboat. Steamboats use a steam engine to actively propel the boat instead of passively relying on the wind or current to carry the boat. The American John Finch was the first to make a steamboat voyage in 1787, and American Robert Fulton improved the steamboat and made established it as an effective means of commercial shipping in inland America. The steamboats used a steam engine to either directly turn a paddle wheel partially submerged in the water or to rotate an underwater propeller (Bellis "Steamboat").
Steamboats gave merchants the ability to ship goods both up and down rivers. This greatly reduced the costs and time required to move goods, allowing port cities to flourish more than ever. In addition to revolutionizing the internal waterways, the steamboat cut the transatlantic travel time from roughly 2 months to a little over 2 weeks ("On the Water").
Steamboats gave merchants the ability to ship goods both up and down rivers. This greatly reduced the costs and time required to move goods, allowing port cities to flourish more than ever. In addition to revolutionizing the internal waterways, the steamboat cut the transatlantic travel time from roughly 2 months to a little over 2 weeks ("On the Water").
Sources
Bellis, M. The History of Steamboats. About.com Inventors. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsteamship.htm
On the Water. - Maritime Nation, 1800-1850: Enterprise on the Water. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://amhistory.si.edu/onthewater/exhibition/2_3.html
Bellis, M. The History of Steamboats. About.com Inventors. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsteamship.htm
On the Water. - Maritime Nation, 1800-1850: Enterprise on the Water. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://amhistory.si.edu/onthewater/exhibition/2_3.html