Americans on the Move

During the early 1800’s

1. Americans were quickly settling the territories between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River

2. Between 1792 and 1819, 8 new states were admitted to the union – including Indiana in 1816

Roads

• The nation was in desperate need of transportation routes to connect the growing country

• Travel and communication were primitive4 at this time

• Building roads was a priority

Roads• The first really good roads were paved

with gravel

• Built by private companies

• The companies charged tolls on these roads to pay for upkeep and to make a profit

• These were called turnpikes

Roads

• In swampy, wet areas, roads were built with logs to keep wagons from sinking into the mud

• These were called corduroy roads

Corduroy Roads

Roads

• In 1806, Congress approved spending for the National Road – the first time that the government funded public roads

Steam Transportation

• If possible, water transportation was preferred to using roads

• Water transportation was far more comfortable than bumpy wagon rides

• However, using flatboats was slow, especially when going upriver

• The boat ride from Pittsburgh to New Orleans took at least 17 weeks!

Flatboat

Steam Transportation

• In 1807, Robert Fulton launched the steamboat, the Clermont, which revolutionized water travel

• His first trip broke the speed record by traveling 300 miles in 62 hours!

Clermont

The Canal Boom

• Erie Canal Song by Bruce Springsteen

• To help western farmers move their goods east, canals were needed to link the country

• The growth of canals improved travel time across the country and helped create a national market

The Canal Boom

• The greatest of canals was the Erie Canal

• It linked Lake Erie to New York

• It was 350 miles long and took 8 years to build

• Once finished it lowered the price of goods produced in the west

• It helped make New York the financial capital of the world

Erie Canal

• The Erie Canal - A journey through history - ePodunk

The Wabash and Erie Canal of Indiana:

Success or Failure?

• The success of New York’s Erie Canal, completed in 1825, sparked a canal boom in the Old Northwest.

• The intent was to connect Lake Erie with the Ohio River by way of the Wabash River trade route.

• In 1827, Congress authorized a ½ million acre land grant which would allow Indiana to sell the land and fund a canal.

• Work began in the Fort Wayne area in 1832.

• Not only did the sale of the land helped spur Indiana’s economy but it supplied many different laborers with work– Irish immigrants– Skilled artisans– Engineers

Indiana was enjoying a time of prosperity and would no longer be trapped in its ‘pioneer condition of isolation.’ (Madison)

The state legislature approved

$10,000,000be borrowed to finance three canal projects,

road development and other internal improvements by selling bonds to

investors from New York and England. The bonds were to be paid off at face

value plus 5% interest.

The Mammoth Internal Improvements Act of 1836

A great investment

until…..

The Depression

Of1839

“More abruptly than it had begun, work stopped on nearly all projects.” (Madison)

None of the projects were completed

AND

The state of Indiana was insolvent – that’s bad – it means we were

broke!

Confession

• Indiana admitted that they could not pay back the bond notes and definitely not the 5% interest

• Here comes the judge…. The New York and London investors hired a lawyer, Charles Butler

• The state legislature worked out an agreement stating that Indiana had to pay back ½ the debt (now over $11 million – remember the interest)

• The other ½ would be given to bondholders and shares of stock in the Wabash and Erie Canal – they took the risk and ended up losing heavily

Failure?

Maybe not……

The Wabash and Erie Canal Redeemed

• It carried large quantities of freight and passengers

• Covered a distance of 468 miles – the longest canal in the COUNTRY!

• Corn shipments in the north totaled 2.8 million bushels by 1851• Population increased• Warehouses, hotels, mills, factories and

towns sprang to life along the canal line