UNIT IV - Travelers on the National Road
STUDENT SHEET
Background:
How do people travel on roads today? They may use buses, trucks, or cars
to go from place to place. But in the 1800’s, people traveled in different
ways.
Some people walked along the National Road. Drovers walked their
herds of animals to market. These herds of sheep, pigs, cows, or turkeys
could be very large. People who lived along the National Road might also
walk from place to place on it .
Other people traveled the Road with Conestoga wagons. These large
wagons were pulled by 6-8 horses. The wagons were painted red and blue
with white canvas covers and carried large loads of supplies along the
road. These wagons were similiar to today's tractor trailers.
Many stagecoaches traveled the National Road. It was expensive
to ride in the brightly painted coaches pulled by 4 horses. The coaches
were painted with bright scenes to attract customers. Stagecoaches carried
passengers, and some also carried the mail from one town to another.
All kinds of people traveled the National Road. Emigrants traveling
west used the road, but few of these people wrote about what they saw
and did. Politicians, performers, and military people also used the road.
As many as 200,000 people traveled the National Road every year.
Thought Questions:
1. Pretend you are traveling the National Road in the 1800’s. How
would you travel? Where would you go? Why?
Research:
These are famous people known to have traveled the National Road:
| John Quincy Adams |
William Harrison |
James Monroe |
| P. T. Barnum |
Andrew Jackson |
James K. Polk |
| Blackhawk |
General Lafayette |
Zachary Taylor |
| Henry Clay |
Abraham Lincoln |
Martin Van Buren |
| Millard Fillmore |
Jenny Lind |
|