Robert Fulton: The Invention Of The Steamboat

Robert Fulton was an artist, father, designer, and architect that modernized transportation in the 1800s. In a world of horse drawn carriages and wagons and sailing ships, a steamboat seemed like a good idea to broaden the use of waterways. Robert Fulton developed the paddle-wheel steamboat which widely impacted many diverse industries.Robert Fulton’s major accomplishment of developing the paddle-wheel steamboat had significant impact on various industries. Robert Fulton is known for the invention of the steamboat, but he had many other accomplishments that took place during his earlier life. Fulton’s parents, Mary Smith and Robert Fulton Sr., were Irish immigrants. Robert was born on November 14, 1765 in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. As

Fulton invented the first steam powered warship for the United States that was launched in New York in 1814 (Pierce 95). Little did he know that this steamboat would help America defeat the British and prohibit them from entering America’s waters and land. The main reason for constructing his steamboat was to keep the U.S. safe from harm by the British, and to protect them from the fear (Sutcliffe 132). In order to achieve this goal, he would make a sturdy boat with cannons on top that could fight against the British and keep America out of harm’s way. Not only would this innovation defend the U.S., the warship would help transport American troops to their bases. He also supplied Commodore Perry with a steamboat that helped America create foreign relations (Sale 180). This meant that ideas, goods, and materials could be exchanged among other countries. It would increase America’s income through exports and imports. The money America would make from this could lead to more exploration, the invention of new technology, and more evolved weaponry. Robert Fulton once declared that his, “‘ingenious Steam Boat, invented with a view to the navigation of the Mississippi from New Orleans upward . . . will certainly be a very valuable acquisition to the commerce of Western States’” (Kirkpatrick 14) Fulton saw his steamboat as an opportunity to spread goods and commercialize America. The steamboat also made America’s population more diverse and greater. Once people from outside countries heard about the first successful steamboat, they wanted to experience that new piece of technology. Immigrants and tourists noticed how intriguing the steamboat and decided to stay. A frenchman by the name of Michel Chevalier once expressed that “‘the discovery of steam has added unbelievably to the strength and prosperity of the Union . . .’” (Kirkpatrick 191). Robert Fulton’s