Fulton's Steamboat

by Ed Vebell

Title

Fulton's Steamboat

Artist

Ed Vebell

Medium

Painting - Acrylic On Cold Press Illustration Board

Description

It was the English who invented the first steam engine and the first steam railroad but it was an American, Robert Fulton, who, in 1807, formally launched the steamboat era. Fulton was not the inventor, however, of the steamboat: that distinction belongs to poor John Fitch, a Connecticut Yankee and a veteran of the Continental Army who, as early as 1787, built and launched a forty-five-foot steamboat. But, alas, nothing came of that brave experiment. Fitch could get no financing for his invention and in the end gave up in despair and fled to the wilds of Kentucky where he died. Ten years later, the New York lawyer and diplomat, Robert Livingston, anticipating the role that steamboats might play in a vast nation whose only effective transportation was by water, persuaded his young friend Robert Fulton, with whose artistic and inventive talents he was familiar, to try his hand at building a steamboat. Fulton boasted a natural talent for engineering. He eagerly embraced Livingston's proposal and by 1807 was ready to launch The Clermont, named after Livingston's hometown. On its maiden trip, the boat steamed up the Hudson to Albany and returned five days later, having averaged a speed of five miles an hour. Successful as it was, it brought no great wealth to either Livingston or Fulton, for in 1824, John Marshall's Court pronounced their monopoly unconstitutional as an infringement on congressional power to regulate "commerce concerning the several states."

Please note the "Fine Art America" watermark will not appear on the painting or any print reproduction.

Artwork Copyright © 1980 Wind River Studios Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the Copyright. WRSH Stock Number XB06484

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April 11th, 2022

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