Economy The North’s economy primarily relied on industry. Before the Industrial Revolution, much of the North’s economy consisted of small-scale farming. Starting in the 1800s, many started working in factories. The American first factories manufactured textiles, using cotton grown in the South to produce cloth. Factory production eventually diversified. They assembled a wide variety of items, such as clocks, shoes, watches, guns, sewing machines, and agricultural machines. As the states developed, trade started increasing. The many cities in the North became centers of trade, including New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. People started investing in trade ventures and new industries. Technology Many innovations led to the growing industry …show more content…
Before these innovations, most people used wagons and horses to travel across land. However, traveling by wagons and horses were quite difficult. Traveling 363 miles could take as long as three weeks. Because of this, private companies saw value in building turnpikes, or toll roads. These roads often had a base of crushed stone, and corduroy roads were built where the land was muddy. Railroads were also widely used forms of transportation in the north. In addition to transportation over land, river travel was also improved. The steamboat revolutionized river travel. Before the invention of the steamboat, people moved their things using river barges. However, this was very limited, as most major rivers flowed north to south, so items could not be transported from east to west. Additionally traveling upstream by river barge against the current was very slow. The steamboat allowed shipping goods to become cheaper and faster, and made travel more comfortable. Canals, or artificial waterways, were dug to allow for river travel to be independent from the existing river systems. Series of locks were built along the canals to provide a way to raise and lower boats at places where canal levels …show more content…
Much of its economy depended on industry, so there was a class of rich businessmen and factory owners. These people were usually very wealthy and came from old families. The North also had a growing working class, which mainly consisted of factory workers and other small-scale farmers. By the 1850s, many states had organized education systems, with free public schools, trained teachers, and longer, mandatory school years. Women of the North united and advocated for equal treatment under law. They were often paid less than male workers and excluded from unions. Freed African Americans also faced discrimination. They were often excluded from public facilities and were forced into segregated schools and hospitals. Immigrants also contributed to the culture of the North. Between the 1820 and 1860, two of the largest group of immigrants came to the United States. Over 1.5 million Irish immigrants arrived in the United States, and most were too poor to buy land in the U.S. so they took low-paying factory jobs, and the 1 million German immigrants who settled in the United States usually had enough money to buy farms and start their own business, prospering in many parts of the country and bringing a distinctive flavor of languages and religion in the United States. Immigrants faced discrimination from many people as
With the creation of systems such as steamboats and the Eire Canal, urban systems expanding appearing all over areas such as the Mississippi River. The Eire Canal allowed the Atlantic Ocean to be connected directly to the Great Lakes through New York and Albany, which in turn allowed them to be connected to the Mississippi. The Mississippi and the Great Lakes were already existing natural landscapes, but the creation of the new transportation system of the Eire Canal imposed a new geography to them, allowing them to become a central backbone to the American Transportation system. Transportation choices, such as the Eire Canal, allow the American transportation system to avoid constraints provided by natural landscapes, and fully take advantage of their opportunities. One example of this was the steamboat sublime, which removed the constraints on the Mississippi River that limited the movement of vessels to be only able to travel downstream.
https://bestgedclasses.org/civil-war-north-vs-south-overview/ The main binary opposition between the North and the South in the 1800s was that the North was more economically and technologically advanced. That was the whole ideal, that the North was superior when it came to continuous progress. Well the idea of transportation adds to the binary opposition between the two sides. The North is superior to the South, and so the binary opposition becomes emphasized with anything that proves that ideal.
Spanning from northern Minnesota to New Orleans, man quickly realized the Mississippi river could be used to transport cargo and people. With the invention of the steamboat, this idea quickly came into fruition, allowing cargo and people to travel long distances. But the river proved hazardous to traverse, with sandbars, reefs, and hanging branches especially the Upper Mississippi. Later, the construction of the Louisville and Portland canal helped expand commerce, allowing travel from Pittsburg to New Orleans. Abraham Lincoln at a young age became interested in steamboats, due to a childhood experience of earning money ferrying people across the river.
Can you imagine living in the 20th century without any roads, railroads, and canals when trying to travel somewhere? These different types of transportation helped impacted the American society between 1815 and 1860 were road, canals, and railroads. These forms of transportation have helped the American society in the 1800’s and continued to evolve in the America it is today. The transportation revolution made traveling easier.
Three inventions that changed America and transportation forever were the steamboat, the Conestoga wagon, and the railroad,because they each influenced the United States by transforming revolutionized and encouraging expansion. The steamboat shortened the amount of time of water travel and took away the reliance on the elements from water travel. The Conestoga wagons specific design changed the way future wagon were built and the way settlers travelled by land. Finally, railroads were a later advancement to land travel, because they were quicker than horse drawn wagons. All of these inventions helped the United States expand from coast to coast, into what is now the USA.
The history of steamboats is quite interesting. Back before cars and trains existed, rivers were used for trasportation. The travels they often took were slow because speed of travel depended on the river current, and manpower. That is, until, the 1800s where steamboats could reach up to speeds of 5 miles per hour. After they realized they could reach such speeds, the men started river travel and trade.
In the 1700’s, the Northern and Southern regions of the United States had developed two distinct economies. In the South, large plantations and farms owned by wealthy men growing cash crops such as cotton, tobacco, and indigo were responsible for the majority of the economy. These plantations and farms used slaves to substitute for the necessary labor as it was a much cheaper and more accessible alternative. Trade and business were predominantly conducted overseas with Great Britain and other European nations. Towards the North, however, people thrived off of a more diverse and industrial economy; some also worked as farmers, but more were merchants, bankers, and laborers who manufactured goods.
Wagons were essential, as they helped carry food, guns, wounded soldiers, soldiers, medical supplies, and mail. “They even carried office supplies and new technology for photography and communication.” Alongside wagons, railroads/trains were another addition to the new forms of transportation frequently used. At the time, they were much quicker than wagons, and President Lincoln had rails installed all across The United States sometime before the
Railroads enabled mass income for farmers and allowed traders to gain a larger amount of trading spots and ports for increased money. Railroads have come a long way since they were first created. The first railroads ran using coal and were extremely slow compared to today’s standards, however trains did not tire as horses did and could haul more goods at a very steady pace to make transport quicker and cheaper. These railroads were more effective than horse drawn carriages also in how they were cost effective and they ran year round unlike horses who couldn't be worked during winters for health and physical reasons (Oregon Railroads, 2009). According to Oregon Railroads, late 1800’s, predictions held true and, “the railroad triggered a 250% jump in wheat production from 1870 to 1877….
Traveling for trade’s or for visit was a lot more faster after the steamboat was invented. It was a lot more easier to travel upriver and going against its current. Before the steamboat was even invented, they took more time and a lot more energy when going up steam or against the current. The use of steam speed up the efficient transportation of perishable good and trades. Steamboat was extremely valuable during the civil war.
The barges made it possible for grain to be transported from a long way away in a much safer manner than trucks, which have been prone to tipping over with heavy loads of grain. Which is devastating to farmers since that is their entire season's crop gone before their eyes in an instant. There were other methods of transportation that were used to transport grain, the most successful one was a designated railroad for transporting grain, the grain companies tried to use already built rail lines like the Chicago lines, who ended up fighting back against the grain mills because they felt they were not getting their share of the profits. Steamboats were also tried for transporting on the river but the railways provided a better route for the mills so the steamboats weren’t used long. Even though there were routes on the Mississippi and the St. Croix, the rail lines ended up being more efficient.
Many methods of transportation came about during the 1800’s. Horse drawn carriages were the main private mode of transportation the people used daily. Toll roads known as, “turnpikes” were paved roads while “shunpikes” were short local detours to avoid the toll roads. Steamboats invented by Robert Fulton and these made upriver travel possible. Iron bridges were built to not impede river traffic and allow road travel across water.
The building of roads, canals and railroads played a large role in the United States during the 1800s. They served the purpose of connecting towns and settlements so that goods could be transported quickly and more efficiently. These goods could be transported fast, cheap and in safe way through the Erie Canal that was built to connect the Great Lakes to New York. Railroads were important during Civil War as well, because it helped in the transportation of goods, supplies and weapons when necessary. These new forms of transportation shaped the United States into the place that it is today.
Everything was spread out and it was time consuming to travel. When more time was spent on traveling from one place to another, less time was available to do other activities, such as working, playing and visiting. Ordinarily, horse and wagon travel was popular and was the best solution for travelling at the time. Numerous parts of the wagon were made from wood and rubber and the wagon was pulled by at least one horse. Nevertheless, owning a wagon could be a burdensome financial challenge and taking care of a wagon required a great deal of work.
Question 1: What were the first improvements in water transportation and how did it affect the way the US traveled. Summary of Information Found: the United States was growing and started asking for some better and more efficient way of transportation. Some of the major ways that water transportation was improved was by creating canals to connect rivers, the invention of steamboats, and even steamboat companies improving steamboats to hold more passengers. Question 2: What was the first usable automobile, and how was it powered, and how was it influential to the history of transportation.