Invention: Steamboat named "Clermont" Inventor: Robert Fulton Date of Invention: 1807 Location of Invention: New York
Background: Robert Fulton became interested in steamboats around the age of 12 after meeting a man who saw the original Watt steam engine in London, England. As Fulton grew up, he focused his studies on canal creations and the inner workings of steam engines.
Fulton saw a need to create a better transportation system. While the United States had some rudimentary roads created in the north, the roads were hard on travelers with bumps often and dust flowing into the carriages of the wagons. Many people also had small boats or canoes that they used to travel and trade with, especially on the Mississippi River; however, it could take weeks to travel the length of the river. In 1807, Fulton and his father-in-law, Robert Livingston, worked together to create the first commercial steamboat. He knew the rivers could provide faster transportation for trade, and he made the connection that the same could be done for travelers. However, rowboats and canoes were not the fastest way for human travel.
The "Clermont," was a long, slender boat powered steam. Steamboats have a big wheel either on the side or the back of the boat that would turn and drop water into the steam engine, which in return, would power the wheel to move by pushing steam through the pipes. The wheel and the smoke stack coming out of the top of the boat are the identifying characteristics of steamboats.
Significance: Fulton was able to meet a need he saw in the way the people of the United States traveled. Many people in the United States were looking for ways to travel faster than by walking, riding in carriages or using simple boats on the rivers. Fulton gave them the answers to their transportation problems when he created the steamboat.
The steamboat provided faster upstream travel than other boats, faster travel in general, and cheaper travel than every before. Since travel was cheaper and now faster, cities in the midwest and along rivers suddenly saw a huge growth in their populations. The steamboat helped with the belief in westward expansion and actually gave Americans the means to pursue their dreams.