The sharp decline in domestic freight costs during the antebellum period was primarily due to the introduction of canals and steamboats.
People and merchandise were soon transported along rivers across the nation using steamboats. Canals were constructed to connect rivers, lakes, and oceans in an effort to improve the use of water transportation.
The subsequent inventions of the steamboat, the canal system, and the steam-powered locomotive reduced the cost and duration of travel, fueled factory expansion, promoted western settlement, and boosted international trade.
Steamboats significantly decreased the time and cost of transporting commodities to far-off markets when compared to other types of craft that were in use at the time, such as flatboats, keelboats, and barges. They were therefore crucial to the expansion and stabilization of the American economy prior to the Civil War.
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