How Did People Travel Before The Erie Canal? Before the Erie Canal was built, the main modes of transportation over water were birchbark canoes and bateaux (French for “boats”). The birchbark canoes allowed Native Americans and then European settlers to travel the rivers of New York. How did the Erie Canal improve transportation? Canals. Canals
How Did People Travel Before The Transcontinental Railroad? Before the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, people traveled across the American West mainly by stagecoach. While railroads were available in the East, travel through the West was a slow, laborious process. What was used before the transcontinental railroad? Railroad track had to be laid
How Did People In The 1850S Travel? People were able to travel city to city in the space of an afternoon with the coming of the railroads. Communication between cities and towns was also available instantly due to the telegraph. Telegraph lines ran beside railroad tracks. How did people travel in the early 1800’s? At