Turnpike roads, canals, steamboats, and railroads all transformed transportation in the early 19th century and helped link different regions of the United States. The Erie Canal opened in 1825 and linked the Northeast to the Northwest, making trade and transportation more efficient. Canals aided westward expansion but railroads eventually replaced them as the dominant land transportation method, as railroads were faster. Steamboats allowed for transportation on rivers against river currents, linking the South and West. These developments in transportation helped drive economic growth and urbanization.

1. TRANSPORTATION and SECTIONAL INTERDEPENDENCE INTERDEPENDENCE by Graham Burke and Nate Shoesmith

2. TurnPike Roads Individual companies financed gated roads that travelers had to pay to use. The proceeds covered the costs of roads and provided a profit for the owners. These were called turnpikes because they used pikes as gates and turned them when people paid so they could pass through. They did not use concrete or asphalt but they did use wood or packed down rocks. 1.

3. TurnPikes: Affect The largest road was the National Road that stretched from Maryland to Illinois and was 591 miles long. This road was very controversial because the government funded the road and people were unsure if such government activity was permitted under the Constitution and previous precedent. These roads demonstrated the growing impact that transportation had on commerce and communication. The largest roads were in the north like the National Road and the Lancaster Turnpike, and such roads played a key role in linking the northeast to the northwest.

4. Canals Provided smooth transportation taking the place of TurnPike Roads. The most influential canals by 1840 included: Erie Canal, Delaware and Raritan Canal, Pennsylvania Canal, and Ohio and Erie Canal. Canals took many years to build under harsh working conditions, and most work was done by Irish Immigrants. Canals still under construction by 1840 included: Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Wabash and Erie Canal, and Miami and Erie Canal. 2.

5. Canal: Effects Canals were a northern transportation method that helped link the northeast to the northwest. The middle states also used canals but they did not stretch to the south which was dominated primarily by the steamboat. Canals were essential to rapid westward expansion because markets were often extremely far away from where the crops were grown in the West. When northwest farm products became available in the northeast for low prices due to delivery via canals, northeastern farmers were forced to work in factories.

6. Erie Canal Most influential Canal running 363 miles long, built from 1817 to 1825 One end started in Buffalo, New York to the other end in Albany, New York It was made under the command of governor Clinton of New York Construction required harsh working conditions, mostly for Irish Immigrants. 3.

7. Erie Canal: Effects Linked Northeast to Northwest with more efficient transportation. Reduced consumer’s cost of products due to lower shipping expenses. Land in the area around the canal became more valuable. Urbanization around the canal occurred due to the increased population surrounding the canal due to waterborne traffic. Also, many other canals (north to south) branched off of the Erie Canal, linking east to west trade with north to south trade. The Erie canal led to the industrialization of the northeast specifically in New York. 3.

8. Steam Boats Steam boats took the place of canals, allowing transportation against the current. Robert Fulton was the first to successfully use the steamboat in 1807 with the Clermont . Steam boats were also very dangerous. In the 1800 to 1850 time period, the boilers on steamboats sometimes exploded and often killed the passengers. 4. 5.

9. Steam Boats: Effects Farmers got back against the current on steamboats instead of walking back after rafting down the Mississippi River with their crops. Steamboats were mainly used on the Mississippi River and the surrounding rivers but they were also used on the ocean. Steamboats were a southern transportation mode and played a key role in linking the south to the west. Steamboats allowed farmers to travel against the current, and also to travel with a large bulk of products given the ships’ powerful engines. 4.

10. Railroads Like steamboats, trains used the steam engine as a source of power. Railroads were brought to America in 1828, but did not proliferate until years later. Dangerous conditions, poor braking systems, and lack of a standard gauge caused growth in train usage to be slow at first. Railroads did not grow into an popular method of transportation until the mid to late 1830s. Railroad locomotives were referred to as the “Iron Horse”. 6.

11. Railroad: Effects Railroads provided a more direct route for people and products. Railroads were also faster and therefore more efficient for transportation. Like canals, railroads played a key role in linking the northeast to the northwest. This permitted further westward expansion and further industrialization in the northeast. 6.

12. Clipper Ships Clipper ships were constructed for the first time in the 1840s by Americans. Yankee naval yards, specifically the boston yard of Donald Mckay, made the new clipper ships like the Chariot of Fame. Clipper ships were very fast ships and were often used to transport high value cargo instead of bulk cargo due to their small size. 7.

13. Sources 1. R.C.C. Clay, “Turnpike Roads”, 26 December 2006. <http ://www.fovanthistory.org/turnpikes.html> 2. John William Hill, History of Erie Canal. <http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/exhibition/4_4.html> 3. “Economic Research Service”, History of American Agriculture, September 2000. < http ://www.agclassroom.org/gan/timeline/1820.htm> 4. Heather Hicks, Steam Boat Invented, 2008. < http://www.xtimeline.com/evt/view.aspx?id=536384 > 5. “Little Bits of History”, Sultana , 27 April 2011. < http ://patriciahysell.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/sultana-2/ > 6. Randy Houk, “Rail Road history ”, Important milestones in English and American railway development . 1 April 2008. < http ://www.sdrm.org/history/timeline/ > 7. David Goldman, “Prehistoric Times,” December 2003. < http://www.copyrightexpired.com/hawkins/nyc/Benjamin_Waterhouse_Hawkins.html>