There were numerous kinds of steamboats, which had different functions. Following this introduction, steamboat traffic grew steadily on the Mississippi River and other river systems in the inland United States. Fulton then began making this round trip on a regular basis for paying customers. Fulton’s craft made its first voyage in August of 1807, sailing up the Hudson River from New York City to Albany, New York, at an impressive speed of eight kilometers (five miles) per hour.

It was built by Robert Fulton with the assistance of Robert R. The first truly successful design appeared two decades later. In 1787, John Fitch demonstrated a working model of the steamboat concept on the Delaware River. There was a need for more efficient river transportation, since it took a great deal of muscle power to move a craft against the current. The United States was expanding inland from the Atlantic coast at the time. Several Americans made efforts to apply this technology to maritime travel.

These boats made use of the steam engine invented by the Englishman Thomas Newcomen in the early 18th century and later improved by James Watt of Scotland.

However, the term most commonly describes the kind of craft propelled by the turning of steam-driven paddle wheels and often found on rivers in the United States in the 19th century. Any seagoing vessel drawing energy from a steam-powered engine can be called a steamboat.

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