American Pageant Chapter 1 Essay

1. Innovations in markets, transportations and technology impacted the United States in different economic and regional ways. To begin with, innovation in transportation in the United States had huge economic impacts along with a few regional impacts. Economically, innovations such as the steamboat and and the creation of the Erie Canal had big impacts. The Erie Canal helped connect the Western markets. Many other states then went to create their own canals to link themselves to the rest of America. These canals allowed for quicker and cheaper transportation as well as opened up more opportunity for businesses and stores alongside the canal to open up. These canals had a more profound impact on the North and West as they were located mostly in the North and Midwest areas. Railroads joined the canal as the main …show more content…
Overall, new transportation systems allowed for easier and cheaper trade which decreased the price of good as well as increased profit for companies and opened up more opportunities for businesses and stores in the North and Midwest. In the South there was not a significant economic change. New innovations in technology had enormous impacts on the United States. Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin which benefited the South and North economically as the South would mass produce this cotton and send the raw product to the North, where it would be finished. Additionally, the invention of the steamboat allowed for upstream river transport and increased the flow goods. It was extremely important in the North as it allowed people to trade by allowing them to go up a river. However, new technology put in emphasis on manufacturing and this led many people to migrate up North to work, leading to immense poverty among those who were unskilled and had to work in terrible working conditions and low wages at the factories. Lastly, new innovations in the markets had significant effects on the American