Transportation DBQ Essay

551 Words3 Pages

The US went through revolutionary advancements in transportation from 1800 to 1840. The transportation improvements had substantial effects on the economy and also individual development. People could now buy goods that were made in places faraway because access was easier to towns and cities and people’s experiences grew as they were able to be more mobile (309). The roads were inadequate in 1800, so the federal government funded the National Road in 1808 to establish its dedication to improve the roads in the nation and so then by 1839 the East and West would be tied together (309). Commerce was still inadequate even with the National Road funded which improved transportation. Transportation that was waterborne was cheaper and remained …show more content…

The idea of building the Erie Canal, from the governor of New York DeWitt Clinton, was an immense challenge in construction and engineering, yet the canal was built in less than 10 years. The Erie Canal victoriously rerouted European-American buying and selling inward for building interstate commerce in America’s heartland (310). The nation’s economic growth also depended on improvements to water transportation. The use of steamboats accelerated trade in the interior parts of the nation by using the river system. Urban growth was also stimulated by these improvements revamping Cincinnati from being a frontier outpost manufacturing and market center beginning in 1790 and to the 1830s (311). The railroads encouraged modernization in the American iron industry because they needed to keep up with the demand for the railroad’s iron rails. There were problems of regularity because the railroads were only local and short and were not until the 1860s the railroads began reinforcement into more regional and larger railway systems. The transportation improvements increased the economy’s growth creating markets that were distant more attainable. And the transportation revolution emboldened optimism and more adventurousness in Americans that would further inspire innovation and