The steamboat evokes images of leisurely travel, genteel gambling, and lively commerce, but behind the romanticized view is an engineering marvel that led the way for the steam locomotive. From the steamboat's development by Robert Fulton to the dawn of the Civil War, the new mode of transportation opened up America's frontiers and created new trade routes and economic centers.
Firsthand accounts of steamboat accidents, races, business records and river improvements are collected here to reveal the culture and economy of the early to mid-1800s, as well as the daily routines of crew and passengers. A glossary of steamboat terms and a collection of contemporary accounts of accidents round out this history of the riverboat era."
1 The "Invention of the Devil" 5
2 Keelboats and Barges: The "Arks" of the New World 16
3 Onward to the "Father of Waters": The Fulton-Livingston Patent 22
4 The Meschasipi - Or Is That the "Mississipi"? 29
5 "St. Looy" and the Upper Mississippi 41
6 A World Unto Their Own: The Mississippi and Ohio Rivers 58
7 Navigating the Inland Western Waterways 72
8 The Trades and the Trade-Offs 77
9 Economic Conditions During the Steamboat Era 88
10 Making Money on the Rivers 100
11 Man Overboard! Steamboat Disasters on Western Waterways 116
12 The Steamboat Race Is On! 137
13 The Development of Steamboat Crews 145
14 Deckhands: A Distinctive Class of Casual Workers 167
15 Steamboat Gothic: The Florid and the Ornate 177
16 "My satisfaction was complete": First-Class Passengers 186
17 Steamboat Diversions 197
18 "Just the bar' necessities, ma'am" 206
19 The Nameless Masses: Deck Passengers 217
20 An International Incident 223
21 Potions, Purging and Practitioners 230
22 (In)Famous Steamboat Cities 245
23 The Roaring '50s: The Railroads Come Calling 259
Appendix A Glossary 265
Appendix B Original Accounts of Steamboat Disasters 277
Bibliography 293
Index 297
Overview
The steamboat evokes images of leisurely travel, genteel gambling, and lively commerce, but behind the romanticized view is an engineering marvel that led the way for the steam locomotive. From the steamboat's development by Robert Fulton to the dawn of the Civil War, the new mode of transportation opened up America's frontiers and created new trade routes and economic centers.
Firsthand accounts of steamboat accidents, races, business records and river improvements are ...