Steam and Wires

Explain how the steamboat, steam locomotive, and telegraph changed business.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 44

New machines changed American business. Productivity means how much can be made or done with the same work. Machines pushed it way up.
In 1807, Robert Fulton's steamboat ran up the Hudson River. Before steam, boats going upstream had to be poled or pulled. Soon steamboats filled the Mississippi. In 1819, the SS Savannah left Georgia and crossed the Atlantic, using steam for part of the way.
Next came the steam locomotive. Trains ran in any season and didn't need a river. In Georgia, a railroad's end point, called Terminus, grew into the city of Atlanta.
Look how fast travel changed. In 1800, going from New York City to Chicago took about 6 weeks. By 1857, it took about 2 days.
In 1844, Samuel Morse sent a message from Washington to Baltimore by telegraph, as a code of clicks. News that took days now took minutes, so businesses could learn prices and place orders right away.

Georgia Standards of Excellence in Social Studies:

SS4E1.f — Give examples of technological advancements and their impact on business productivity during the development of the United States (e.g., cotton gin, steamboat, steam locomotive, and telegraph).