SteamBoat
I am doing my assigned blog on the Steamboat. In 1769 James Watt patented the first improved steam engine. The Steam Engine was created during the Industrial Revolution. The idea to make Steamboats or use a Steam Engine for any other new technology advances happened soon after the Steam Engines potential was realized. The Steam Engine gave the idea for a Steamboat.
The Steamboat era began in the United States during 1787 when John Fitch made the first successful Steamboat. The Steamboat was 45 feet long and went on the Delaware River and on August 22, 1787. Later on Fitch made a longer Steamboat that carried people and goods between Philadelphia and Burlington, New Jersey. John got his first patent for the Steamboat on August 26, 1791. He had to battle James Rumsey for the Patent because they both had a design of their own Steamboat, and they were both very similar.
John had made four different Steamboats in the years of 1785-1796 that were driven on lakes and rivers. John’s boats were built really well and mechanically successful, but he did not pay attention to operating and manufacturing costs of his Steamboats. John died in 1798 . Soon after John’s death an inventor named Robert Fulton made his first Steamboat. Fulton made his new Steamboats better than Fitch’s and Fulton was named the “father of steam navigation”.
Robert Fulton was born in 1765 and was an American Inventor who was the first person to successfully make and operate a submarine in France in 1801. Very soon after this he turned his attention to the Steamboat. Fulton was given most credit for making the Steamboat a success, because the Steamboat he made went from New York City to Albany. It made and 150 mile trip now take around 32 hours, traveling at a rate of about 5 miles-per-hours. In 1811, the “New Orleans” Steamboat was made by Robert Fulton and Edward Livingston, this Steamboat carried both people and goods.
The Steamboat was a critical invention during this time period. It made traveling across small amounts of water without the power of the wind. Although this invention was had some good things to it, it also had some bad. There were always risks of explosions, indian attacks, sinkings. For some people who just were using them for fun had Steamboat races. These were very dangerous and probably slow, considering the Steamboat traveled at about 5 miles per hour. These boat also were a key component in Westward Expansion.
Sources:
http://www.sam.usace.army.mil/montgomery/educational/5thand6th/ahistoryofsteamboats.pdf
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsteamship.htm
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