US History
Steamboats
History
Before trains, cars, trucks and airplanes existed, rivers were used for travel. They carried people and goods from one place to another. River travel was often slow because speed of travel depended on the river current and manpower. That changed in the late 1700s and early 1800s when steam powered boats were introduced.
Disadvantages
Before the steamboats men had to carry their own cargo to places and had nothing to ship things to places. But while you are in the middle of traveling your boat could hit something and break or something could go wrong and you boat could sink.
Advantages
Now since steam boats were invented you could ship cargo to a bunch of different places! Since they also invented steam powered its not fully manual.
Important People
Robert Fulton invented the first steam boat called the Clermont. He invented it for the use of transportation and that he was always interested in the way steam engines worked.