Chapter 10 Growth and Expansion (1790-1825)

Section 2 Westward Bound

Moving West

• The first census in the US took place in 1790

• It revealed a population of almost 4 million

• Most lived a few hundred miles from the Atlantic coast

• Within a few decades this changed settlers moved farther west

• 1820 census- population of about 10 million people (2 million west of the Appalachians)

• The trip west was not easy, the trip from New York City to Buffalo could take as long as 3 weeks

Roads and Turnpikes

• The nation needed good roads for trade

• Private companies built turnpikes (toll roads)

• Most roads had a crushed stone base

• The land was muddy in some areas, so companies built “corduroy roads”

• Ohio asked the federal government to create a road to connect it with the east

• 1806- Congress approved funds for a national road

• Went from Baltimore, MD to Vandalia, Illinois (Through Columbus, Ohio)

River Travel

• Had advantages over travel by wagon and horse

• More comfortable

• Boats could carry more

• River travel had two problems

• 1. Most major rivers in the region flowed in a north-south direction

• 2. Traveling upstream by barge against the current was extremely difficult and slow

Steam Engines

• Were used in the 1780s and 1790s to power boats in quiet waters

• Early boats could not go against currents

• Robert Fulton developed a powerful steamboat to carry cargo and passengers up the Hudson River

• 1807- Fulton’s steamboat, the Clermont, made the 150 mile trip from New York City to Albany

• In 32 hours

• With sails it would have taken 4 days

Steamboats

• Started a new age in river travel

• Shipping goods became cheaper and faster

• Regular steamboat service started along the Mississippi River

• Steamboats contributed to the growth of river cities like Cincinnati and St. Louis

• By 1850 there were some 700 steamboats carrying cargo and passengers in the US

Canals

• Steamboat routes depended on existing rivers

• Steamboats could not tie together the eastern and western parts of the country

• De Witt Clinton developed a plan to link New York City with the Great Lakes region

• The plan was to built a canal across New York state

• Would connect Albany on the Hudson River with Buffalo on Lake Erie

Building the Erie Canal

• Thousands of laborers (Many Irish immigrants) worked on the construction of the 363 mile Erie Canal

• A series of locks were built

• Could raise and lower boats at places canal levels changed

• Many dangers were involved in building the canals

• After more than two years, the Erie Canal open on October 26, 1825

• Clinton boarded a barge in Buffalo and traveled to Albany

• Then down the Hudson to New York City

Improving Canal Travel

• Steamboats could not travel on the Erie Canal in the early years

• The powerful engines could damage the earthen embankments

• Instead, teams of mules or horses hauled the boats and barges

• This was still faster than wagon

• 1840s- The canal banks were reinforced to accommodate steam tugboats that could pull the barges

• More canals were then built

• By 1850- there were more than 3,600 miles of canals

• Canals lowered the cost of shipping and linked the regions of the growing country

Western Settlement

• Between 1816 and 1821, 5 new western states were created

• Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi, Alabama, and Missouri

• There was a rapid growth of population west of the Appalachian Mountains

• Families settled in communities near rivers

• Families gathered together for social events

• Men wrestled, women quilted

• Families gathered for cornhusking

• American population continued to spread westward

Essential Question

• How did land and water transportation affect westward expansion

• 1. Better roads allowed easier travel and cheaper shipping

• 2. Steamboats brought cheaper and faster shipping and spurred the growth of river cities

• 3. The Erie Canal and other canals made shipping cheaper, encouraged the growth of towns, and united the country