Eire Canals

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19th Century American Goods and Service Transportation The 19th Century is well known for the American Industrial and Transportation Revolution. Transportation of goods and services had a great impact on the early American economy. The improvement of roads, waterways and railroads were all major factors during this time, although, they were all important the railroad had the greatest impact. Horse drawn carriages and wagons were the primary means to transport goods and services to and from port cities and the Midwestern frontier settlements. Before the developed and maintained roads travel was extremely slow and difficult for the heavy wagons. The development of high ways, turn pikes and plank roads provided an extensive road network by the mid 1800’s The addition of the Ohio valley to the…show more content…
By 1860 there were over 700 steam boats being used. Steam boats allowed the transportation of goods and services up river efficiently. They increased cargo capacity and decreased travel times (“Steamboat Fact”). Canals had a significant impact in the transportation industry and expansion during the 19th Century. The construction for the Eire Canal began in 1817 the success of the Eire Canal caused a “canal boom” linking eastern coastal cities to great lake cities. By 1850 there was over 3800 miles of active canals, significantly reducing cost and time to transport goods from coast to the Great Lakes (“HISTORY”). A few years after the completion of the Erie Canal the first successful passenger and freight railroads were established. They not only reduced the amount of time it took to travel long distances, they were more reliable and could transport more weight efficiently. Their initial success soon led to a massive expansion east of the Mississippi River eventually leading to the construction and completion of the Transcontinental
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