New Technologies and Transportation Chapter 12, Section 2

The Transportation Revolution During the early 1800’s the United States experienced a Transportation Revolution: A period of rapid improvement in the speed, ease and cost of transportation.

Transportation Revolution The first form of transportation affected was water travel Robert Fulton successfully sent his steamboat The Clermont up the Hudson River on August 9, 1807

The Transportation Revolution News of the trip created an immediate demand for a steamboat ferry service.

Transportation Revolution Steamboats soon became a common sight on the Mississippi River The steamboat could move quickly against the current and did not rely on wind power.

Transportation Revolution What the steamboat did for water travel, the train did for land travel. Although steam-powered locomotives had appeared in Great Britain in the early 1800’s, they did not become popular in the US until the 1830’s.

The Transportation Revolution “Railroad fever” soon spread across the country. By 1840, the US railroad companies had laid about 2,800 miles of track, 1,000 more miles than existed in all of Europe. Railroad companies became some of the most powerful businesses in the nation

The Transportation Revolution The railroad boom created engineering challenges. Trains had to run up and down steep mountains, around tight curves, and over dangerous rivers.

Transportation Revolution “Whizzing and rattling and panting, with its fiery furnace gleaming in front, its chimney vomiting fiery smoke above and its long train of cars rushing along behind like the body of a gigantic dragon-all darting forward at the rate of 20 miles an hour!” George Templeton

Gibbons v. Ogden The growth of the railroad industry led to the first Supreme Court ruling on commerce between states. Thomas Gibbons held a federal license to operate a steamboat. He wanted to run his steamboat between New Jersey and New York.

Gibbons v. Ogden Gibbons did not have a license to travel in New York waters. New York had already given Aaron Ogden the monopoly on the steamboat business there Ogden sued Gibbons and won, Gibbons appealed the case to the Supreme Court

Gibbons v. Ogden The Supreme Court ruled that Gibbons had the right to operate in New York because his business crossed state lines. Chief Justice John Marshall explained that federal law overruled state law because the Constitution gave only Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.

Gibbons v. Ogden This case reinforced the federal government’s authority over the states. It expanded the legal definition of commerce to include navigation and communication that make trade possible.

Communication by Wire In 1832 Samuel Morse invented the telegraph-a devise that sends and receives pulses of electrical current through a wire.

Communication by Wire Telegraph operators communicated with Morse’s invention by tapping a key to complete an electric circuit and send a signal to a distant receiver. Morse Code was the system of using different combinations of short and long pulses to represent letter and numbers.

Communication by Wire Dots represent a short burst Dashes represent a long burst

Communication by Wire In May of 1944, Morse sent a message from the Capitol Building in Washington, DC to Baltimore Maryland-about 40 miles away. An exchange that would have taken hours by train had taken only a minute by telegraph.

Communication by Wire Telegraph operators were soon sending and receiving information for the government, newspapers, businesses, and private citizens. Telegraph companies strung lines on poles along railroads

Agricultural Improvements Improved transportation helped many more Americans move west to find land. At first, farmers who moved to the Midwest had difficulty plowing through the rich, thick soil.

Agricultural Improvements Blacksmith, John Deere designed a steel plow in 1837. The plow’s steel blades could slice through the earth without getting stuck. His business continued to prosper as more farmers moved west.

Agricultural Improvements

Agricultural Improvements Cyrus McCormick developed a mechanical reaper that cut wheat more quickly “A cross between a flying machine, a wheelbarrow, and a circus wagon.” The London Times It made harvesting faster and easier.

Agricultural Improvements Together, Deere’s plow and McCormick’s reaper made it possible for Midwestern farmers to plant and harvest huge fields of wheat. The process was fast and cheap.

Home Technology Isaac Singer- perfected and marketed the first sewing machines. Sewing machines became a symbol of wealth. Many women bought sewing machines to try to earn a living sewing clothes at home.

Home Technology In the 1830’s, the icebox was developed that used large blocks of ice to cool foods. “I’ve got this icebox where my heart used to be…” Families could store food for longer periods of time.