USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Compared to other types of craft used at the time, such as flatboats, keelboats, and barges, steamboats greatly reduced both the time and expense of shipping goods to distant markets. For this reason, they were enormously important in the growth and consolidation of the U.S. economy before the Civil War.

Detailed explanation-2: -Steam-powered boats traveled at the astonishing speed of up to five miles per hour. They soon changed river travel and trade. Before long, more steamboats worked the rivers than the old flatboats. Steamboat travel was dangerous.

Detailed explanation-3: -The steam engine meant that humans no longer had to power the boat themselves, and movement upstream became much easier. As a result of this new technology, river travel increased even more over time. The first steamboat to travel on the Ohio River was named the New Orleans.

Detailed explanation-4: -Steamboats would have an engine that would burn coal to turn water into steam and power the boat. The steam was used to manage a propellor or paddlewheel. Some boats had a single paddlewheel, while others would have a dual set. The steam engine was invented by James Watt in 1769.