How did the transportation revolution contribute to the development of a national market economy in the US between 1810-1840?

Answer 1

The transportation revolution stimulated the development of a national domestic market by provided a means for transporting manufactured goods. This increased employment opportunities and the average household income.

Answer 2

The transportation revolution contributed in many ways to the development of a national market economy in the United States. It reduced the cost and time of shipping. With the expansion of the United States after the Louisiana Purchase, farmers needed a way to ship and trade goods in a faster and more affordable way. Toll Roads were the first attempts to make transportation easy for long distances and although it was somewhat useful to travelers it didn't go so well for tranporters because it was too expensive. For trasporters water tranportation was better and according to our book " The United States natural system of river transportation was one of the most significant reasons for its rapid economic development" (262). It provided easy access to different areas of the country including the interior and was more cost affective than inland transportation such as rail roads. The "Canal Boom" was the best form of transportation created, it allowed easy access to seaboard cities from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes such as the Ohio river and Missisipi. The "Erie Canal" was the best major engineering achievement for the United States, it not only lowered the cost the of shipping but it also lowered the cost of products and goods. Soon after more and more canals were being built all along the rivers. The desire to reduce shpping cost and spped up shipping led to many changes and created a new economic system.Canals and steamboats "increased farm income and stimulated commercial agriculture" (264). Initially farmers would consume most of what they produced selling only small amounts to nearby markets, but with the boom in transportation developments it allowed for commercial Agriculture to be a huge success. These new developments and rapid growth of commercial agriculture also created the need for banking, before these forms of transportations farmers could easily exchange goods and make whatever kind of payments needed to be made to eachother locally, but with long distance transactions this would take too much time and money to accomplish. "Private and state banking institutions filled the void by issuing banknotes, promisses to reedem their paper in specie-gold or silver on the bearers demand" (265). (ooohhh the days where our famous little plastic cards initiated… lol) The rapid growing and booming economy created many opportunities for people all over the country and were only the beginning of the many new changes to come.