New inventions and improvements in transportation methods facilitated westward expansion during the Industrial Revolution. The introduction of steam power to river travel made upstream travel faster for passengers and goods, while canal systems made shipping even cheaper, connecting western farms to eastern cities. As transportation became more reliable and affordable, populations grew in western territories and new states were formed. While roads provided more access than rivers or canals, they were often poor quality and expensive. Rivers allowed cheaper and smoother travel downstream via flatboats and upstream via new steamboats, but flatboat travel was slow against the current. Canals linked western and eastern cities and economies but were very costly to construct.

1. Transportation and the Industrial Revolution
• Focus Questions:
1. How did new inventions and changes in
transportation methods affect westward
expansion?
2. What were the advantages and
disadvantages of these methods of
transportation?

2. 1. Transportation Improvements and Westward
Expansion
• Improvements in roads result in an increase in
westward movement
• The introduction of steam power to river travel results
in quicker upstream travel for passengers and gives
farmers a cheaper way to transport goods from rural
areas to urban markets
• The canal systems drop the price of shipping even
further and connects western farms with eastern cities
• As transportation becomes cheaper and more reliable,
populations in western territories increase and new
states are created

3. Corduroy Road

5. Lancaster Turnpike

6. The National Road

8. Flatboats

9. “Clermont”- Robert Fulton

11. Flat-bottomed steamboat

13. 2. Comparing Three Transportation Methods
• Roads- More roads than canals and rivers, more
access to remote areas. Poor quality,
uncomfortable for travelers, expensive tolls,
blocked by rivers.
• Rivers- Swift downstream, flatboat travel and
swift upstream steamboat travel. Cheaper and
more comfortable than roads. Slow upstream
flatboat travel, dangerous steamboat travel.
• Canals- Access for farmers to port of New York,
linked western and eastern cities, spurred on
economic activity in U.S., difficult engineering
problems to solve- expensive to build.

14. The Erie Canal

18. Connecting New York with the West

20. Profile of the Erie Canal