| Summary |
This study is an examination of the contribution of the inland river and sound steamboat to the development of transportation in nineteenth century North Carolina. The extensive use of the steamboat in North Carolina was remarkable considering the marginal environment for steam navigation offered by the geography of the state. Rivers and sounds were shallow and hazardous, with only the Cape Fear River reaching well into the state. The first steamboat to operate within North Carolina was the Norfolk, which was put into service at New Bern in 1818. Almost immediately the Norfolk was the victim of a business recession in 1819. A sensitivity to economic depressions remained a problem with the generally undercapitalized steamboats throughout their career in North Carolina. More pioneer steamboats followed quickly, and a slow growth in numbers continued until 1837, when another business depression hampered development. The remaining years before the Civil War were relatively prosperous and allowed the greatest development of the steamboat in the state. Over forty different steamboats were noted on the Cape Fear alone in a twenty-one year period. Efforts of state leaders to rechannel the flow of native commerce from other states to North Carolina ports by the means of railroads and steamboats failed, removing a potential source of progress for the steamboat. The Civil War seriously reduced the number of steamboats, and recovery was slow due to a lack of capital and poor business conditions. The war had demonstrated the effectiveness of the railroad as a faster, more efficient form of transportation. Public demands for speed in travel put the slower steamboat at a disadvantage. |
| Summary |
A postwar federal program of river improvement was of some benefit, but most North Carolina rivers were incapable of permanent improvement without expenditures far in excess of a reasonable economic return. Besides the problems imposed by geographical factors, the common carrier steamboat lines suffered a marked reduction in available revenue when a sizeable proportion of water transport users began operation of their own steamboats after the war. The problems of steamboats were further complicated due to the doubling of railroad mileage in North Carolina during the last decade of the century, reducing the steamboat to the status of a "feeder" line to the rails and a cheap carrier of bulk cargoes. The sailing vessels again began to compete with the steamboat for the remaining business, offering even cheaper transportation. The gasoline engine also made its appearance shortly before 1900 and began to replace steam power as a means of propelling the smaller boats. By the end of the century, the steamboat was a minor carrier of goods and passengers, having been largely superseded by a superior form of transportation, the railroad. The steamboat, however, had left its mark as a participant in the development of the eastern part of the state and North Carolina as a whole. |
| General note | Presented to the Faculty of the Department of History. |
| General note | Advisor: Charles L. Price |
| General note | Submitted to the faculty of the Department of History. |
| Dissertation note | M.A. East Carolina University 1971 |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references leaves (85-91). |
| Genre/form | Academic theses. |
| Genre/form | History. |
| Genre/form | Academic theses. |
| Genre/form | Thèses et écrits académiques. |
