Transportation

Paper instructions:
How did Americans communicate and travel prior to 1815?  How fast did goods and people move?  What is the transportation revolution and how did it manifest itself in the United States?  Discuss roads, steamboats, canals, (and, after 1830, railroads).  How did this revolution affect economics, politics, and every day lives?  Explain.

Answer as completely as possible, citing names, events, ideas, and other historical issues.  Support all answers with citations and references.  Citations and bibliographic references should be in the University of Chicago/Turabian style. For works in history, foot-notes or end-notes are required. (Avoid social science parenthetical citations).