Steamboats

Which is more efficient (faster and easier)?

• A flat boat (seen here), powered by a person's strength.

• A steamboat, which is powered by burning coal.

Why can't farmers sail the rafts (flat boats) back up the Mississippi River?

• The boats fall apart after one trip.

• The current is too strong.

Tell me at least one reason the steamboat was a positive invention.

Because of the steamboat...

• people leave the midwest

• more people settle in the midwest

How did the steamboat transform the United States?