2. Industrial Revolution
New inventions change the way goods were made.
People began using machines instead of hand tools.
The Industrial Revolution changed the way people in the
United States lived, traveled, and worked.
3. Transportation - New Roads
Until 1803 roads were dirt paths full of tree
stumps and holes.
In 1803, Congress voted to build the first
National Road to Ohio. It was level, and it was
paved with stones and tar.
4. Transportation
By 1860 there were more than 88,000 miles of
roads in the United States.
Traveling by road however, still cost a lot of
money and took a long time.
5. Transportation - Canals
In 1817 New York began building the Erie
Canal, a waterway connecting Lake Erie to the
Hudson River.
It was built by 1825 and cut the price of
shipping goods between New York City and
Buffalo from $100 a ton to $10 a ton.
7. Transportation - Steam Engine
The Steam Engine helped steamboats to
become the most popular form of river travel
and railroads changed the way people and
goods moved on land.
8. Transportation - Steam Boats
Steamboats became bigger and faster, that
meant more cargo and passengers could be
delivered in a shorter amount of time.
This meant bigger profits for cargo companies
and their customers.
9. Transportation - Railroads
The steam locomotive was now being used to
power railroad engines by 1830.
Up until then companies used railroad cars
pulled by horses.
10. Transportation - Railroads
The number of railroads grew quickly after 1830, by 1850
about 9,000 miles of track crossed the nation, mostly
joining cities in the East.
Railroads made it easier and cheaper to move heavy loads
of raw materials and manufactured goods to all regions of
the country.
As railroads grew, so did manufacturing in the United
States.
