Description
What our History of Transportation in America: Waterways lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: History of Transportation in America: Waterways explores the history of travel by water in America. By the end of the lesson, they will understand the economic, social, and political changes regarding ships, barges, and waterways. Students will infer the future of ports and recreational waterways. This lesson is for students in 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade.
Classroom Procedure
Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the yellow box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand.
Options for Lesson
You can check out the “Options for Lesson” section of the classroom procedure page for additional suggestions for ideas and activities to incorporate into the lesson. Many cities have maritime museums, ports, Coast Guard Stations, or recreational waterways. If possible, arrange a field trip to one of these places. Invite someone in the marine industry to speak to your class and allow students to interview the guest.
Teacher Notes
The teacher notes page provides an extra paragraph of information to help guide the lesson. You can use the blank lines to write down any other ideas or thoughts you have about the topic as you prepare.
HISTORY OF TRANSPORTATION IN AMERICA: WATERWAYS LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
Introduction
The History of Transportation in America: Waterways lesson includes five content pages. You have probably read about the numerous voyages across the sea of people from Europe exploring the Americas. Long before the discovery of the Americas, ancient mariners explored, traveled, and traded goods with other civilizations using small boats and barges. Travel by boat was a reliable and relatively safe way to move goods quickly. It should come as no surprise that the early history of America was dominated by travel through waterways.
Early America
Water travel was critical in the exploration, expansion, and development of the American economy. Rivers functioned as interstate highways before roads, railroads, and even maps of well-traveled trails by horse or foot. Before the colonization of America, native Indigenous peoples used a network of rivers and streams to navigate among tribes and locations. Water was sacred to many tribes.
Like their ancient predecessors, tribes were wise in locating their settlements near moving water. The rivers provided water to drink, for agriculture and transportation, and as a source of food. Drinking water from stagnant pools was sometimes hazardous, and illnesses from drinking tainted water were common. Indigenous people learned to drink from moving streams and to collect rainwater as safer alternatives. The Indigenous tribes were well-versed in navigation, irrigation techniques, fishing, and boat construction and took advantage of the resources while living near water.
Dugout canoes were used for short trips or trips in narrower streams. Larger canoes and flat barges were used for longer trips and to facilitate trade between tribes. The early explorers replicated the design and construction of Native American canoes because of their function. The waterways were more than a source of transportation and food. They were a primary network for communication between settlements.
Early Settlers
The early settlers quickly realized that the native populations were extraordinarily gifted in navigation. Working with local tribes and hiring guides was preferable to guessing where unmarked paths, rivers, and streams led. Native tribes had extensive knowledge of the land, seasons, hazards, food sources, and local tribes. This made them a valuable asset to explorers. Historians estimate that more than 10 million Native Americans were spread out across the continent. Long before European explorers arrived, the tribes had forged land pathways.
But they also extensively explored the waterways useful for travel, trade, and communication. One interesting fact that underscores their navigation skill, whether on land or by water, is that many of our modern interstate highways, railroads, and waterways follow the paths made by Native Americans hundreds of years before they were constructed!
Pre-Colonial Period
One reason for colonization was that European countries sought raw materials shipped from America to their home countries. It would not be long before the colonists saw an opportunity to use the raw materials, such as trees, to start building ships. Boatbuilding records are hard to come by because many records have been lost or destroyed by age. The earliest known historical records are those from Virginia in 1612.
The earliest vessels were probably large barges or dugout canoes. Some historians think some small sailing vessels were built as well. We do know that once port construction began on the Atlantic coast, boat building in America began in earnest. The first boats were probably designed as fishing vessels capable of going short distances offshore. Smaller ships were designed to navigate the inland waterways.
By the 1620s, several small shipbuilders dotted the East Coast. The northeast was prominent in shipbuilding activities. Recall from American history that the British settled many of the colonies on the East Coast. By law they discouraged competition between British companies and American colonists for nearly every product made in the colonies. Shipbuilding was the exception. The British realized that the abundant raw materials and labor in the colonies were perfect for building ships.
Colonial Period
The shipbuilding industry in the colonies accelerated. By the 1700s, a vibrant and dynamic shipbuilding industry had developed in the North and Middle Colonies. Along with shipbuilding came global maritime trade. The ports of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia in the north and Charleston and Savannah in the south were packed from stern to stern with European goods. Raw materials from the American colonies were returned as finished products like furniture, tools, and other goods to Britain. Agricultural products such as tobacco and cotton flowed out of the colonies and into the eager hands of British merchants. Trade was booming, and marine innovation lead the boom.
Meanwhile, during the ocean trade boom, colonists moved away from the eastern shores and ventured west. Roads were nonexistent. Trails were barely navigable by horse. Wagons didn’t fare well either. There had to be an easier way to move people and goods from east to west. The pioneers moving west needed reliable and inexpensive ways to get from one point to another. Waterways were the solution.
Ferries, small flat boats, and barges crossed rivers, intersecting primary paths. A new industry emerged—transporting goods by river. Major rivers including the Mississippi River became watery highways traveling north to south and back again. Assisted by Native American guides, pioneers could begin a push westward past the Mississippi River. Once again, native peoples were crucial in guiding pioneers through the treacherous waters.
Post-Colonial Period
Post-colonial America saw rapid expansion westward. The Mississippi and Missouri Rivers provided explorers access to more western lands. The Lewis and Clark expedition, guided by Sacagawea, was a significant breakthrough in westward expansion. After the Louisiana Purchase, the land west of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers was wide open for exploration.
The Lewis and Clark expedition surveyed the Missouri and Columbia Rivers and found routes connecting the continental interior to the Pacific Ocean. Although much of the exploration was done on foot or by horseback, it is hard to ignore the significant role Sacagawea played in guiding the company over land and by water. While Lewis and Clark were unsuccessful in finding a direct water route to the west coast, their expedition demonstrated the viability of water travel.
Nineteenth Century: Innovation Leads the Way
In the eighteenth century, Americans were still exploring and mapping routes from the East Coast to the West Coast and from northern to southern regions. By the nineteenth century, travelers had access to reasonably accurate maps. Trading posts and military posts dotted the landscape. Small towns popped up at major intersections of trails and waterways. The journey was still arduous and dangerous, but at the very minimum, someone wanting to travel across the country could do so on established routes. It might take months on foot or horse, but it could be done. However, two innovations revolutionized waterway travel.
As is often the case with new technology, it is hard to determine which innovation is the product of the other. Did the steamboat lead to an emphasis on advanced engineering and canal construction, or vice versa? It is hard to say. John Fitch is credited with the first steamboat success when he launched his craft on the Delaware River in 1787. At first, the components and design made Fitch’s boat too expensive. Then along came Robert Fulton’s commercially viable steamboat, the Clermont. It took to the water in 1807 on the Hudson River. In 1835, Henry Miller Shreve took a steamboat from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Louisville, Kentucky. Shreve’s journey demonstrated the capability of steam power.
Age of Canals
Some historians refer to the early nineteenth century as the “Age of Canals.” Natural waterways and a few short canals were popular as less expensive modes of transporting goods than overland travel by wagons. During his presidency, George Washington proposed the first canal project and inland waterway systems. It would not be until 1817 that the first canal project would begin, though. Dewitt Clinton convinced the New York State Legislature to build a canal to link New York to the Great Lakes and Atlantic Ocean.
The first major canal project that dramatically increased the capacity and efficiency of water travel was the Erie Canal. Completed in 1825, it was the largest canal waterway built in America. It opened the northeastern United States to water systems across the Midwest and middle America. Because of its length (nearly 350 miles), access at multiple points, and construction, it was considered one of the most incredible engineering feats of the nineteenth century. The Canal Age lasted about 25 years. During that time, more than 4,000 miles of navigable canals were added, many still in use today! Railroads eventually replaced canals as the primary transportation routes. However, steamboating remained popular into the twentieth century, bolstered by President Roosevelt’s plans to expand waterways as competition to the large railroads in 1907.
A Hidden Gem
As time progressed, steamboats were replaced with more efficient marine craft like tug boats and large flat barges. These were powered by diesel or other fuels. The expansion of paved roads for cars and trucks, like interstate highways, connected cities on land. Aircraft technology, more powerful engines, and lighter materials resulted in aircraft competing for a part of the transportation business. The inland waterways and railroads became less financially attractive and efficient ways to move goods across the country. Many thought the age of water travel was an anachronism and would not be viable in the future.
One of the best secrets in American transportation involves waterways, canals, and the significant role intracoastal water plays in our economy. Huge and widely traveled barge channels stretch from New England to the Florida Keys. There are waterways traveling west, even into Texas! Waterways are not perceived as competition to railroads, highways, or air. They are integral to shipping materials from ocean ports to inland communities.
There are now more than 25,000 miles of inland waterways. Most inland waterways and canals are east of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. The topography of the Midwest and West is not favorable to water channels. Many major western rivers and tributaries have also been dammed to provide hydroelectric power and instead channel water to irrigate farms.
The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintaining the many miles of inland waterways and canals. The Corps manages more than 12,000 miles. Taxes and user fees fund much of the cost of keeping the waterways. Most economists believe the US invested and spent the money well when comparing the cost to how many dollars return to the local communities and the US economy. Waterways and canals will continue to be an essential transportation component in the future.
HISTORY OF TRANSPORTATION IN AMERICA: WATERWAYS LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The History of Transportation in America: Waterways lesson plan includes three worksheets: an activity worksheet, a practice worksheet, and a homework assignment. Each one will help students solidify their grasp of the material they learned throughout the lesson. You can refer to the classroom procedure guidelines to know when to hand out each worksheet.
WATER VESSEL ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
Students will get to build a water vessel for this activity. Using the materials you provide, students will follow the steps to create their water vessel and then answer the question at the bottom of the page.
HISTORY OF TRANSPORTATION IN AMERICA: WATERWAYS REVIEW PRACTICE WORKSHEET
For the practice worksheet, students will answer 10 review questions based on what they learned in the content.
ERIE CANAL MAP HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
On the map, students will trace the route of the Erie Canal. First they will research online to find the route. Then they will label some of the cities near the canal that aren’t already labeled on the map.
Worksheet Answer Keys
The lesson plan includes answer keys for both the practice and homework worksheets. Correct answers are in red to make it easy to compare them to students’ responses. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits these pages. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep these as reference for yourself when grading assignments.
