By: Eric OBrien and Michael Macheras

There were many different types of power that were used during The Industrial Revolution. While steam was the most commonly used, other types included: water, wind, wood, and coal power.

The way that steam engines worked was they pumped water from underground and burned it using coal to produce steam. This was an easier alternative to watermills because factories could be built anywhere, not just by a river.

Robert Fulton is credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat. Fulton also worked with canals, submarines, and torpedoes. John Stevens also worked with steam power as a form of transportation. He saw the danger of using high-pressure steam engines in previous vessels, and began to design low-pressure engines to be used in a paddle-wheeled boat. On August 26, 1791, John Finch was granted a United States patent for the steamboat. Finch made the first successful trial on the Delaware River in August,  Among the many that contributed to the invention of steamboats, three key figures were Robert Fulton, John Finch, and John Stevens

 One of the main figures in the invention of the steam locomotive was Peter Cooper  Cooper was an American industrialist, inventor, and candidate for President of the United States in 1876  Cooper also built the first steam locomotive in the U.S. and founded Cooper Union  Other noteworthy elements to Cooper were his owning of a glue factory and Canton Iron Works

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