LESSON
15
KEY
WORDS
investors
steamboat
railroads
locomotive
imported
hearth stove
anthracite
forges
KEY
PLACES
Philadelphia
Lancaster
New York
Albany
Hudson River
Pittsburgh
New Orleans
Ohio River
Mississippi River
Honesdale
Norristown
Harrisburg
Chambersburg
Reading
Erie
Altoona
Scranton
S
TEAM
E
NGINE
F
EVER
,
R
AILROADS
,
AND
C
OAL
F
OCUS
Q
UESTIONS
1. How did the steamengine, railroads, and coal contribute to Pennsylvania’s
industrial growth?
2. How did the hearth stove contribute to Pennsylvania’s industrial growth?
KEY
PEOPLE
James Watt
John Fitch
Robert Fulton
Matthias Baldwin
Steamboats
JamesWatt
of Scotland had improved the steamengine in 1769 so that it was
muchmore practical to use. The possible uses of this invention caught the imagination
of many inventors and i
nvestors
.
John Fitch
of
Philadelphia
first experimented with
steamboat
designs. In 1787, his first steamboat was launched in front of the
delegates from the Constitutional Convention. He was granted a patent for his
invention but never made a profit. However, it was
Robert Fulton
of
Lancaster
who
first put the steamengine to an efficient use on boats. In 1807, he developed the first
profitable steamboat with a paddlewheel. Historically known as the Clermont, Fulton
simply called the vessel “my steamboat.” His boat steamed between
NewYork
and
Albany
on the
Hudson River
for a distance of 150miles. The Clermont traveled at an
average speed of close to 5miles per hour.
Later, in 1812, another of Fulton’s steamboats, called the NewOrleans, chugged
all the way from
Pittsburgh
to
NewOrleans
, Louisiana, following the
Ohio
and
Mississippi Rivers
. This trip demonstrated the potential of steamboat travel on these
rivers and opened up western land to settlements. Because of this achievement, the
Pittsburgh area developed a large tradingmarket with towns along the Ohio and
Mississippi Rivers. However, Pennsylvania’s transportation and trade problems
were not solved by steamboats. Some of our rivers, such as the
Susquehanna, were too shallow for steamboats.
Fulton’s “Clermont” on theHudson
River in 1807.
68
Understanding Pennsylvania
