ABSTRACT

Inland transportation in early America was slow and expensive, handicapping trade and communication. Before 1830, for example, many parts of the interior were weeks away from New York City in terms of travel time (Paullin, 1932). This was a reflection, in part, of the continental scale of the country, its sparse settlement, and the challenge to travel posed by its terrain and dense forests. It also reflected the poor state of the country’s transportation infrastructure. Rivers and lakes provided the easiest means of travel and were heavily used but did not reach from coast to coast. Moreover, they were often obstructed, seasonably unreliable, and discontinuous, each necessitating frequent transshipment.