WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Steamboats and Rivers The problem of traveling upstream was solved during the Industrial Revolution by the steam engine. In 1807, Robert Fulton built the first commercial steamboat. It used steam power to travel upstream. Steamboats were soon used to transport people and goods along rivers throughout the country.

Detailed explanation-2: -Steam power became the energy source for many machines and vehicles, making it cheaper and easier to produce commodities in large amounts. This in turn increased the demand for raw materials used to build more machines that can produce even more commodities.

Detailed explanation-3: -With steamboats going up and down the Mississippi and its tributaries, and railroads being built, costs diminished and profits expanded significantly. In addition, farmers could now acquire the goods they needed for their operations with much greater facility.

Detailed explanation-4: -In Tennessee, with its many rivers, steamboats made it faster and easier to get around. They worked better than flatboats, which were more common. Steamboats could travel quickly, at up to five miles per hour, and could go against the flow of the river. Farmers quickly sent goods like cotton and corn to other places.

Detailed explanation-5: -Steamboats completely changed river transportation and trade. By the 1850s, thousands of steamboats traveled America’s rivers, transporting people and goods faster than ever before.