Lucas Harris

F Block

U.S. History 2

October 8, 2013

Steamboat History

       The steamboat had a very long process to being built and then perfected. It started with many different people contributing in many different ways. It was in 1543 when the boat without a sail was first thought of, but not until 1774 was the first successful steamboat to float and move. Then not reaching the U.S. for ten more years. The steamboat started with an idea by Blasco de Garay and then the paddles were thought of more than 100 years later and the thought of putting a steam engine to power the paddles by Denis Papin. Papin probably the first to have the concept of the steamboat but had no backers in England. James Watt was the person who made an improvement on the steam engine that made the steamboat possible. Then William Henry adopted Watts idea of the new steam engine and put it into a boat, granted the boat sank immediately most will say it that this inspired others to try and make a successful steamboat. That is when Claude de Jouffroy had the first successful steamboat in 1774 that only traveled 42 ft but it was still the first. After that there were just more changes to the steamboat that came almost every year or at least every couple of years.

      It wasn't until 1787 when John Fitch built the first steamboat in America. That is when there were many types of steamboats and people also experimented with different ways to propel the boat. With paddles on the side and the back and then finally people settled on the paddles at the back of the boat. Steamboats have also gotten more reliable over the years from when they were first built. Steamboats had a very big impact on the American economy just how the railroads did because it was faster and could haul more material. Just like the boat i doing in the picture steamboats were very good for carrying large amounts of cargo and bringing places as long as there is water in between. For people that quarried which was always on or close to the water steamboats were the perfect thing for them to transport the granite. That is why the steamboat was such a good and important invention, and also what it's doing in this picture.