STEAMBOATS IN LOUISIANA
Robert Fulton started the very first commercially successful steamboat service in America. His steam-powered paddleboat, the Clermont, sailed up the Hudson River from New York City to Albany in August of 1807. This trip lasted 32 hours
The first steamboats were demonstrated in1787. They were used on the river ways to bring cargo, cotton, sugar, and people to their destinations. The steamboat played a major part in the population growth. The steamboats were usually made of wood and were all kinds of sizes. They looked like giant floating houses with large smokestacks and paddlewheels. They were used for carrying people and supplies up and down the river.
Steamboats were later used as show boats for entertainment. The purchase of Louisiana in 1803 made New Orleans a part of the U.S. and opened the door to gamblers. The high life so popular in New Orleans spread north which ushered in the era of the riverboat gambler. By 1820, 69 steamboats were operating the western rivers. And by 1860, that number had increased to 735. These steamboats were christened “floating palaces with luxurious quarters, world class food well stoked bars and wealthy passengers. In1937 riverboat travel entered the passenger boat era.
Calliopes were used on the boats to let people know that the boat was docked. The name “calliope” comes from the Greek goddess “muse of sound.”
The paddle wheels were mounted either on the side or back of the boat. After the Civil War, the stern (back of the boat) paddle wheel was most popular. Although the paddle wheel is very large it draws just a few feet of water. The wheel spins about 18 times a minute with only four planks in the water for best speed. A steamboat travels about 15 miles an hour and 16 to 17 miles an hour on a swift river.
The very first paddle boats ran on wood. Coal replaced wood in 1860 and oil replaced coal in 1950. Many of the earl steamboats burned up because the fire used to create the steam would burn the boat. It took 250 pounds of steam just to blow the whistle.
Maintenance for a 120 ton steamboat was $1,800, 36% of it was for wages paid to officers and crew members, 18% of it was for provisions, 12% of it was for incidentals and insurance, and the rest of it was for 25 cords of wood per day, at $2.
When the country was founded, the geography was a bigger obstacle than it is today. Before the Industrial Revolution, the primary way to move anything was on water. Rivers and Oceans were the original roads and the fastest and least expensive way to move goods. Most of the population "[was] located either at tidewater or along broad, navigable streams that could not be used to produce much water power" (Nye 44). These geographic features made it possible to move items to areas further away from the coast. Moving things one of the three modes of land transport, "by foot, on a horse, or in a wheeled vehicle" (Cowan 94) were too expensive and difficult with no developed roads. People began to look for ways to make this travel more affordable by creating waterways like the Eire canal to connect places. However, most were unsuccessful and the idea passed. Steam engines also made river travel more feasible. It was not difficult to take a barge full of goods down river; however, it would take months to pole the boat back upriver and usually was not even attempted.
Cornelius Vanderbilt was born in Port Richmond on Staten Island, N. Y. in 1794. Cornelius at the age of 16 had already stepped into the busniess world and he didn’t even know it. At 16 he entered into the steamboat business when he established a freight and passenger service between Stanton Island and Manhattan. Little did Cornelius know this would be one of the key ways he would make his millions upon millions. Cornelius entered the steamer business in 1818, and bought his first steamship in 1829. Cornelius was not a laid back guy nothing was ever good enough for him. If you had and Cornelius Vanderbilt wanted it there wasn’t much you could do to keep him from getting it. This is the kind of attitude that put him on top of the world. After establishing his steamboat Vanderbilt became a very vigorous competitor, lowering his rates while also making his ships top of the line. Vanderbilt the entrepuner himself soon controlled must of the Hudson River. After awhile his fellow competitors in the steamboat business paid him to take some of his traffic elsewhere so that he wouldn’t get all the work. By 1846 Vanderbilt was a very wealthy man and with wealth he learned cam power. He became widely know as the Commodore Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt sold his steamboats in 1862 and began buying railroad stocks. In a mere 5 years Vanderbilt used his power to uphold most of the New York Central Railroad system. Vanderbilt like in his steamboats strived to be the best in the railroads now. Vanderbilt established many railway systems during his railroad career maybe his most famous was that of the one that connected New York and Chicago in a direct rail route in 1873. At the time of Vanderbilt’s death in 1877 he was worth over 100 million dollars the most at that time.
In 1784, the King of Spain consented to allowing the Acadians to settle in Southern Louisiana. However, when the Acadians arrived, they had some issues with the French aristocracy who didn’t really want them there, so this caused the Acadians to head west of the city of New Orleans into unsettled territory.... ... middle of paper ... ... Southern Quarterly 44.3 (2007): 68-84.
Dating back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, steamships were ideal for travel. Steamships were wildly popular during this time because they were an advanced transportation that was more efficient than a railroad because it traveled across sea. The steamboat helped advance trade along the Mississippi and brought new towns, new industry, and new jobs. During this time, America was divided into social classes based on social backgrounds and socioeconomic factors. Although the steamship died, the steamer trunk still lives on.
The growth of agriculture and railroads in Texas and in the United States helped form our economy today. Railroads today pass through a lot of Texas, and even in big cities like Houston or Dallas. Since there are so many farms and open farmland (especially in south and west Texas), railroads can carry the produce and livestock to their destination. James Watt invented the first steam engine in about 1769, and from then on, railroads were a must for transportation, since cars had yet to be invented. Railroads began to be built before the Civil War.
In 1850, the side wheeler “Columbia”, which commenced regular services between Astoria and Portland in 1850, was the first steamship to ply Columbia as a common carrier. Half a dozen steamships soon joined her on interior waters, and their numbers greatly increased after the gold discoveries of the 1860s (Schwantes, 181).
As you can see, the Louisiana Purchase played some very pivotal roles in the evolution of the United States. I believe strongly, as do many historians, that there is several direct links to the Louisiana Purchase in regards to extremely important aspects of American history and evolution of the country. Some of these links include the expeditions of Louis and Clark, increase in the countries resources, a more economically stable country, African American relationships, and slavery. The Louisiana Purchase had such a major impact on America, that if the acquisition had never occurred, it would be near impossible to speculate what American culture, society, and life would be like today.
Steamboats were invented in the early 1800's, but it took until the 1820's to make them a common site on U.S. rivers. In the 1840's their popularity kept rising as they continued to increase the amount of trade possible. The reaper, for farming, was also developed in 1831. This allowed more farming in the west on the prairies. Many other farming machines were also developed during this time period, they all made farming in the west much more popular, easier, and profitable. The Trans-continental railroad was started in 1862, even though other trains were already running in different parts of the U.S. The telegraph also went up along with the railroads, although the first time it was used was in 1844. All four of these major technological advancements made the United States really get going on their Manifest Destiny.
In the first half of the nineteenth century, the Market Revolution was famous in America. It was an economic revolution marked by industrialization, improvements in transportation, and expansion. People had difficulties selling their production because of the poor transportation and many family lived in the self-sufficient mode. However, this problem was solved because of the invention of the steamboat,
Chapter 2 narrows the scope from the entire pan-Mississippi world to the confines of the steamboat itself. By the 1830s, steamboats had begun to take their classic "wedding cake" form. To navigate the rivers, steamboats had only a shallow hold where cargo was stored.
To buy or not to buy, that is the question. Although it was the greatest “real estate” deal, the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was perhaps one of the most controversial events in American History. President Thomas Jefferson, although he was a Founding Father and the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, faced major opposition with his decision to purchase the Louisiana Territory from the French. Most of the opposition he faced, however, was domestic.
which was made out of small pieces of wood that had small rope attached to them, and to start
Travel by land and water was both tedious and expensive. Transporting one ton of goods across states would cost around 100 dollars or 1,265 dollars in today’s money. In the 1790s, land routes connecting the east coast and the farther western regions of the United States were undeveloped. Along with this, when weather conditions were poor land routes could not support any sort of dependable shipping by wagon, or even travel by horseback. Natural waterways provided the most dependable method of transport west of Albany. Even travel by waterway in this time period was inconvenient because these water routes were unreliable due to shallow water and raging rapids.
As the old way of fueling their energy needs ran out, there was a search for a new way. This is where crude oil was re-introduced. To light there lamps whale oil was no longer needed, but kerosene was now being used widely.
In ancient marine times people built boats out of bamboo, bundles of reeds, air filled animal skins and more. One of the first boats was made out of sticks and put together with sewn hides. Also at the time then didn’t have oars invented yet so people would use their hands to make the boat move. And to move the rafts they would push poles against the bottom of the rivers or lakes. Then they came out with sails which would replace the action of the humans and sail boats could take on longer trips and heavier loads rather than just the boats make out of sticks. Then they came out with the Viking long ships, those would be about 30 meters long made out of overlapping planks of oak wood, held together by iron rivets. Each ship would carry about 60 oarsmen who rowed the ship. Next they came out with the Chinese junks which were constructed out of softwood and had a horse shaped stern. And their sails weren’t like most, instead of squares they were more built pointed on the top and squared at the bottom. Then they had the three and four masted sailing ships which were in service for several centuries and these wooden ships were used for battling. Then we came out with the clipper ships which were fast sailing ships with long slim hulls and tall masts. Next they came out with the steamships so instead of sails and oars to power it, it was combined with wind and wind power. Then they had the ocean going liners which were driven by a propeller and made of iron. And they came out with the steam driven boats which had paddles on the side of them. Next the sailing ships were converted to diesel power so that they would use oil instead of steam. ...