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The Transportation Revolution in New Jersey
This lesson focuses on the technological, economic, and social significance of the transportation revolution in
New Jersey between 1800 and 1840. Based on your analyses of primary source documents and an historic
map, you will assess the Morris Canal’s impact on New Jersey’s economy and develop mock advertising
campaigns to promote the new transportation system.
Essential Questions:
Which means of transportation moved goods and people through eighteenth- and nineteenth-century New
Jersey?
What motivated New Jerseyans (like other Americans) to improve the state’s system of transportation?
What is the significance of improved transportation to United States history?
Objectives:
Describe New Jersey’s significance as a corridor between Philadelphia and New York City.
Describe improvements in transportation during the market revolution.
Explore the technological and economic significance of the Morris Canal.
Analyze the role of transportation in New Jersey’s market revolution. Procedures:
1. Step 1: Let’s read some background – please locate Background on the Market Revolution and
Internal Improvements in New Jersey.
2. Step 2: Let’s watch a short video excerpt on the transportation revolution in New Jersey from the New
Jersey Legacy television series, available at https://youtu.be/3LEugI0ZWgE.
3. Step 3: Let’s interpret an 1827 map of the Morris Canal and interpret the map by noticing the following
items:
a. The scale of the map at bottom left.
b. The diagram at bottom center depicting the elevation at locations along the canal. (Using this
diagram, you can see how high the canal climbed, discover where locks and inclined planes were
located, and find the highest and lowest points along the canal.)
c. The legend at top right with symbols representing forges and furnaces, both operational and ruined.
(Forges and furnaces were used to extract iron from iron ore. This process had exhausted the
available supply of timber in the New Jersey Highlands, but anthracite coal from Pennsylvania revived
the iron industry in northern New Jersey.)
d. The legend at top right with symbols representing factories and mills that used water power. (Water
from the canal powered these operations.)
i. Now, let’s trace the route of the canal from Phillipsburg to Jersey City, taking note of the
factories, mills, foundries, and furnaces along the way.
4. Step 4: Please locate the following primary sources:
a. Frances Trollope Describes the Morris Canal.
b. The Merchants’ Magazine and Commercial Review Charts Commerce along the Morris Canal.
c. Description of Six Towns along the Morris Canal.
In groups, you will read and analyze one of the documents and complete the corresponding worksheet. You might wish to refer to the canal map or to the other documents as you answer the worksheet questions. Once you have completed the worksheets, we will reconvene the class to discuss what you learned. Each group should select a representative to present their findings to the class.
5. Step 5: Each group will develop an advertising campaign promoting the Morris Canal to either investors or consumers. Each campaign should incorporate important information about the canal, including the canal’s length and its highest and lowest elevations, the importance of technological improvements, the amount of commerce along the canal, and other relevant facts. Groups will take class time and time at home to prepare their ad campaigns and will make their pitches to the class on the following day.
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Background on the Market Revolution and Internal Improvements in New Jersey
This lesson resides within the context of the Market Revolution and the American System (of internal
improvements). In response to the growing demands of travel and commerce, a revolution in transportation
occurred in New Jersey and the rest of the United States during the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-
centuries. Poor roads combined with droughts, flooding, freezing, inconsistent water levels, and waterfalls in
rivers impeded transportation. These problems spurred technological innovation and huge capital
investments, bringing steamboats, canals, and railroads to the United States.
Much of the technology that drove this revolution was initially developed in Europe. American entrepreneurs
purchased the equipment abroad and adapted it to American needs. New Jersey’s first steam locomotive, the
John Bull, was built in England by the Stephenson Company and shipped to the United States by order of
Robert L. Stevens, president and chief engineer of the Camden & Amboy Railroad. The John Bull arrived at
the dock in several pieces and without assembly instructions, but Isaac Dripps, an experienced steamboat
mechanic, quickly put it in working order. Between 1831 and 1833, Stevens and Dripps began building their
own locomotives and modifying the English machine to suit the American terrain.
The Joint Companies, a merger of the Camden & Amboy Railroad and the Delaware & Raritan Canal, was an
immensely profitable venture that revolutionized the transportation of goods and people in and through New
Jersey. Granted a monopoly on transportation between New York and Philadelphia by the New Jersey
legislature, the Joint Companies divided the load; the railroad specialized in moving people, while the canal
carried the heavy freight—especially anthracite coal from Pennsylvania.
A major competitor with the Delaware & Raritan Canal, the Morris Canal was completed in 1832. It crossed
the northern New Jersey Highlands from Jersey City to Phillipsburg, across from the confluence of the
Delaware and the Lehigh rivers at Easton, Pennsylvania. Forks Township, in Easton, was named Forks since
it lies at the "fork" of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers. When it was built, many considered the canal an
engineering wonder for the water-powered inclined planes that hoisted canal boats across the mountains. In
fact, the canal even became an attraction for European visitors like novelist Frances Trollope.
Canals and railroads transformed New Jersey’s countryside as well as its cities. General stores, iron forges,
and furnaces sprang up along the route of the Morris Canal to provide goods and services to canalers. In
cities like Newark and Paterson, factories were built near the canals to facilitate commerce. Before the end of
the nineteenth-century, however, improved efficiency and reduced rates allowed railroads to capture the
shipping trade from the canals.
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Map of the Morris Canal, 1827
Source: Rutgers University Special Collections. Available online u
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Frances Trollope Describes the Morris Canal, 1832.
We spent a delightful day in New Jersey, in visiting, with a most agreeable party, the inclined planes, which are
used instead of locks on the Morris canal.
This is a very interesting work; it is one among a thousand which prove the people of America to be the most
enterprising in the world. I was informed that this important canal, which connects the waters of the Hudson
and the Delaware, is a hundred miles long, and in this distance overcomes a variation of level amounting to
sixteen hundred feet. Of this, fourteen hundred are achieved by inclined planes. The planes average about
sixty feet of perpendicular lift each, and are to support about forty tons. The time consumed in passing them is
twelve minutes for one hundred feet of perpendicular rise. The expense is less than a third of what locks
would be for surmounting the same rise. If we set about any more canals, this may be worth attending to.
The Morris canal is certainly an extraordinary work; it not only varies its level sixteen hundred feet, but at one
point runs along the side of a mountain at thirty feet above the tops of the highest buildings in the town of
Paterson, below; at another, it crosses the falls of the Passaic, in a stone aqueduct, sixty feet above the water
in the river. This notable work in a great degree owes its existence to the patriotic and scientific energy of Mr.
Cadwallader Colden.
There is no point in the national character of the Americans which commands so much respect as the boldness
and energy with which public works are undertaken and carried through. Nothing stops them if a profitable
result can be fairly hoped for. It is this which has made cities spring up amidst the forests with such
inconceivable rapidity; and could they once be thoroughly persuaded that any point of the ocean had a hoard
of dollars beneath it, I have not the slightest doubt that in about eighteen months we should see a snug
covered rail-road leading direct to the spot.
Source: “The Extraordinary Morris Canal Described by Mrs. Trollope, 1832,” in Miriam V. Studley, ed. Historic
New Jersey Through Visitors’ Eyes (Princeton, 1964), 95-96.
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Transportation Worksheet 1
Frances Trollope Describes the Morris Canal, 1832.
1) What does Frances Trollope notice first about the Morris Canal? Why is it significant?
2) What does she say about Americans and their “national character”? Why does viewing the
Morris Canal elicit these remarks?
3) Why does Trollope describe the canal as “extraordinary”?
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The Merchants’ Magazine and Commercial Review Charts Commerce along the Morris Canal, 1840.
The following table shows the comparative business done on this improvement [the Morris Canal]
during the last four years. It shows a rapid increase during the past year:
1845 1846 1847 1848
Coal, anthracite. . . . tons 28,291 47,947 67,068 89,879
Charcoal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512 1,022 478 1,167
Flour and feed. . . . . . . . . . 692 2,201 1,190 1,620
Corn and corn meal. . . . . . 948 1,219 1,229 2,699
Castings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 126 230 195
Iron in blooms. . . . . . . . . . 1,243 1,686 1,720 1,697
Iron rails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 -- 5,020 7,377
Iron pigs and bars . . . . . . . 5,795 11,356 16,949 16,566
Iron ore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,802 17,073 28,314 46,922
Steel spikes and rivets. . . . 206 442 807 401
Plaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715 1,784 738 2,102
Lumber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,516 2,856 3,364 5,450
Ship timber. . . . . . . . . . . . 1,315 1,944 3,424 1,913
Wood bark, &c . . . . . . . . . 5,004 6,756 6,010 6,605
Lime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583 1,804 1,764 2,528
Limestone. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,510 2,450 1,810 5,480
Stone, sand, and clay. . . . 2,466 5,127 6,621 4,825
Brick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759 1,429 2,122 3,775
Merchandise & groceries 580 1,279 2,585 2,313
Sundries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 994 4,130 1,167
Total 58,259 109,505 155,559 204,682
Source: American Periodicals Series Online.
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Transportation Worksheet 2
The Merchants’ Magazine and Commercial Review Charts Commerce along the Morris Canal, 1840.
1) What was the largest cargo hauled on the Morris Canal from 1845 through1848? Where do you think it came from? Where do you think it might be destined?
2) What was the second largest cargo hauled on the Morris Canal between1845 and 1848? Where do you think it came from? Where do you think it was destined?
3) Which of the commodities shipped on the Morris Canal may have come from the New Jersey countryside? (Hint: Take a look at the map.)
4) Characterize the types of commodities that were shipped in largequantities on the Morris Canal. How and where were these items produced and used?
5) Why do you think that some commodities were shipped in larger quantitiesthan others?
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Six Towns along the Morris Canal, 1834.
Philipsburg, Town of Greenwich t-ship, Warren co., on the left bank of the Delaware river, opposite the
borough of Easton Pennsylvania. . . . Contains about 20 dwellings, 4 stores, 2 taverns. The Morris canal
communicates with the Delaware here, opposite to, and a short distance below, the basin of the Lehigh canal.
A bridge of wood of three arches, covered, 600 feet long, and 24 feet wide, over the Delaware. . .connects
Phillipsburg with Easton.
Hacket[t]stown,p-t., Independent t-ship, Warren co., lying between the Morris canal and the Musconetcong
river, which are here about one mile distant from each other. The village is by the post road. . . ; contains 5
large stores, 2 taverns, and from 30 to 40 dwellings of wood and brick,. . . 2 large flour mills, a woolen
manufactory and a clover mill. The town is built upon cross streets; is surrounded by a fertile limestone
country, where farms sell at from 50 to 75 dollars the acre. This vicinity is rapidly improving by means of the
Morris canal.
Stanhope, forge and post-town, on the Musconetcong river, and on the Morris canal, on the S. boundary of
Byram t-ship, Sussex co., by the post route,. . . contains a grist mill, 3 forges, 2 taverns, 2 stores, and from 20
to 30 dwellings, and one large school house. The creek has here been led from its bed, by which means a fine
waterfall of 30 feet, available for mill purposes, has been obtained; an inclined plane of the canal at this place,
surmounts an elevation of 76 feet. . . .
Dover, p-t., of Randolph t-ship, Morris co., on the Rockaway river, 8 miles N.W. from Morristown; the
mountains recede here, and form a small plain, on which the town is built, on several streets and on both sides
of the river, which is passed by one, perhaps more bridges. It contains 3 large rolling and slitting mills, boring
and turning engines, a cupola furnace or foundery, and saw mill, . . . a factory of machinery, . . . an academy
used also as a church, and about 30 dwellings; much business has formerly been done here; the Morris canal
descends into the valley by an inclined plane and 4 locks; a valuable iron mine, known as “Jackson’s,” near the
town, is extensively worked, and governor Dickerson’s mine is about 3 miles distant.
Montville, village of Pequannock t-ship, Morris co., lying in a deep valley, through which passes the Morris
canal, by two inclined planes; the town lies between 10 and 11 miles N.E. from Morristown, and contains a
grist mill, saw mill, 2 stores, 1 tavern, and from 10 to 15 dwellings, and a Dutch Reformed church.
Paterson. . . . The advantages which Paterson possesses for a manufacturing town are obvious. An abundant
and steady supply of water; a healthy, pleasant, and fruitful country, supplying its markets fully with excellent
meats and vegetables – Its proximity to New York, where it obtains the raw material, and sale for
manufactured goods; and with which it is connected by the sloop navigation, by the Morris canal, by a turnpike-
road, and by a rail-road, render it one of the most desirable sites in the Union. . . .
There were, at this time, 12 blacksmiths, besides those immediately connected with the machine shops—in these 22 fires and 37 hands are employed. . . .
Paterson contains 1 saw mill. . . ; 1 grist mill. . .; 4 turning and bobbin factories, employing 43 hands; 5 millwright establishments, employing 18 hands; 5 millwright establishments, employing 59 hands; 1 manufactory of cotton wadding, where wadding of a superior quality is manufactured; 4 machine factories, employing 404 hands. In the last the manufacture of cotton and other machinery is brought to a high state of perfection. . . .
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Attached to the works of Godwin, Clark, and Co., and of Rogers, Ketchum, and Grosvenor, are two extensive brass and iron foundries, where mills shafts, wheels, and the various parts of cotton machinery, &c. are cast. . .
The total number of power and hand looms 374. Total spindles 43,439. Total cotton, wool, and flax annually consumed is 3,958,272 lbs. Total hands employed in all the establishments 2543; a large proportion of whom are children. . . .
The salutary influence of this thriving town, is sensibly felt throughout the whole of the N.E. section of the state. The agriculturist has participated, in no small degree, in its prosperity. His lands have greatly increased in marketable value, and his physical and moral condition has been in all respects improved. If wise, he will maintain this source of present enjoyment to himself, and of future happiness to his posterity, with a zeal becoming its value.
Source: Thomas F. Gordon, Gazetteer of the State of New Jersey (1834), 133, 154, 243, 183, 207-11.
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Transportation Worksheet 3
Six Towns along the Morris Canal, 1834.
1) What was the economic significance of beginning the Morris canal at Philipsburg? What raw material was available in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania?
2) What was the effect of the Morris Canal on the town of Hackettstown? Which businesses in the town might have been affected by the canal?
3) What feature of Stanhope made it a good place for the canal boats to stop? What seems to have been the effect of the canal on the town? What businesses in the town might have provided services for the canal-ers?
4) What types of rural industries were located in and near Dover?
5) What was Montville like in the 1830s? What services and businesses in Montville might the canal-ers take advantage of?
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6) Which product(s) available along the route of the Morris Canal would have found a market in Paterson?
7) What features of the Morris Canal are described in this text?
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Ad Campaign Pitch – Morris Canal Project/Presentation Rubric
Names: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Block: ___________________________ Date: _____________________
Scale:
Criteria Beginning Developing Knowledgeable Accomplished
Content
□ Some information is correct.
□ Information may not quite
answer the question.
□ Information gives only a few
facts.
□ Most information is
correct.
□ Information answers most
of the question.
□ Information contains some
facts, and shows some
understanding.
□ Information is correct.
□ Information answers the
question.
□ Information contains clear facts,
and shows a clear understanding
of the topic.
□ Information is correct, clear,
and detailed.
□ Information goes beyond
answering the question.
□ Shows that you have and can
explain a clear understanding
of the topic.
Product
□ Product was done quickly and
with little planning.
□ Product gives little relevant
information to the audience.
□ Is generally neat and well
planned.
□ Product gives some
information to the
audience.
□ Product is neat, well-planned and
organized.
□ Product informs the audience.
□ Product is neat, well-planned,
organized, imaginative, and
creative.
□ Product informs and interests
the audience.
Presentation
□ Question/Purpose was not
shared with the audience.
□ Presentation shows little
planning and practice.
□ Voice hard to hear.
□ Little eye contact
□ Purpose of project was
unclear to the audience.
□ Presentation shows some
planning and practice.
□ Voice was often difficult to
understand.
□ Some eye contact with
audience.
□ Question/Purpose was shared
with audience.
□ Presentation seemingly has been
organized, planned, and
practiced.
□ Voice was loud and clear.
□ Eye contact with audience.
□ Question/Purpose was stated
and superbly explained.
□ Presentation is superbly well-
planned and practiced.
□ Voice is loud, clear, confident,
and poised.
□ Is at ease with the audience.
Resources/Citations □ No resources used and/or
cited.
□ Used resources, but didn’t
use the required number of
sources
□ Used the required number of
sources.
□ Used all, or nearly all of the
sources.
Note: The grade is tallied by adding the bullets. Each bullet is
weighted by category (10, 9, 8, and 7).
Yes Test:
Rubric Attached _____
Works Cited _____
Notes Handout _____
*Possibly doubled on Infinite Campus
Your grade: _______/100
Place staple here
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