Final answer:
Steam power revolutionized transportation in the 19th century, allowing ships to travel upstream effectively, which was not economically or practically feasible before. It enabled increased global trade and regular steamboat service on rivers like the Mississippi. This resulted in an explosion of travel and shipping that significantly impacted life and commerce.
Step-by-step explanation:
Steam power was a transformative force in oceangoing travel, enabling ships to travel upstream against currents. This innovation began to dramatically change transportation in the early 19th century. With the advent of the steam engine, shipping was no longer reliant on wind and natural river currents, which had previously made upstream travel difficult and expensive. Instead, steamships could sail upstream with ease. The use of steam power in transportation began with riverboats on America’s rivers. Goods that could once only be floated downstream to ports like New Orleans could now also be shipped upstream to the frontier, which was both quicker and more cost-effective. The first significant steamship to navigate upstream did so on the Hudson River in New York in 32 hours. Similarly, the New Orleans was built in Pittsburgh and ushered in regular steamboat service on the Mississippi.
By the 1830s, steamships began crossing oceans. They were faster and more reliable than sailing ships, leading to increased trade and shipping on a global scale. Thanks to steam power, it was economically viable to ship goods across oceans to markets that were previously inaccessible or too costly to reach via overland routes. The rise of large container ships has further revolutionized global shipping, enabling vast quantities of goods to be transported over the ocean in shipping containers.
Historical accounts, like the escape plan up Chesapeake Bay as described in a narrative, often involved utilizing water routes for less obvious travel, showing early utilization of navigable waters for travel and transportation.