Americans Move West

Traveling West Western Routes ◦Great Wagon Road ◦Ohio River ◦Trails through AL, MS, and LA ◦Mohawk River to the Northwest Territory

Traveling West Great Wagon Road ◦Early Pioneer trail across the Appalachians through Pennsylvania

Traveling West Flatboats ◦Flat bottom boats ◦Used to carry livestock and wagons ◦Journeyed down the Ohio River into Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois ◦Well suited for shallow water ◦Carried heavy cargoes and rode high on the waters.

Traveling West New States ◦Kentucky 1792 ◦Tennessee 1796 ◦Ohio 1803 ◦Louisiana 1812 ◦Indiana 1816 ◦Mississippi 1817 ◦Illinois 1818 ◦Alabama 1819

Improvements to Roads Turnpikes ◦Private road built by companies ◦Made of gravel and stone ◦Collected a toll or fee from travelers ◦Various points a pole or pike blocked the road ◦Once the toll was paid, pike keeper would turn the poll aside and let the wagon pass.

Improvements to Roads Lancaster Turnpike ◦Built in the 1790s ◦Private road that linked Lancaster, PA and Philadelphia, PA ◦Made of layered gravel, very smooth road

Improvements to Roads Corduroy Roads ◦Built in swampy areas, roads made of logs ◦Kept wagons from sinking into the mud ◦Very noisy and bumpy ride

Improvements to Roads The National Road ◦In 1806, Congress approved funds for road building projects. ◦Route: Cumberland, MD to Wheeling in western Virginia. ◦Started on the road in 1811, did not complete until ◦Later extended to Illinois.

Steam Transportation John Fitch ◦1787: Fitch showed members of the Constitutional Convention how a steam engine could power a boat. ◦Opened a ferry service on the Delaware River

Steam Transportation Robert Fulton ◦1807 launched the Clermont on the Hudson River ◦First run: carried passengers from NYC to Albany and back. ◦300 mile journey: 62 hours ( about 2 ½ days) ◦Record time

Steam Transportation Steamboats ◦Started ferrying passengers up and down the Atlantic Coast. ◦Revolutionized the west ◦Carried people and goods on the MS, OH, and MO Rivers ◦Henry Shreve designed a flat bottom steam boat ◦Dangers: Sparks from smoke stacks caused fires and boiler sometimes exploded

The Canal Boom Erie Canal ◦Canal linking the Great Lakes with the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. ◦Allowed western farmers to ship goods to the port of New York ◦Promote business ◦Promoted by DeWitt Clinton in 1817

The Canal Boom Successes ◦Completed in 8 years ◦Cost of shipping dropped to about a tenth of what it had been before the canal. ◦New York City becomes a city of commerce ◦The Erie Canal led other states to build canals ◦Vital economic links between western farms and eastern cities.