UNIT 8
TRANSPORTATION IN NEW JERSEY
Grade 4: SOCIAL STUDIES:
STUDY GUIDES
1. What does the word "transportation" mean?
(Pages 132-133)
Transportation is the means by which we get from one place to another.
2. New Jersey is a "pathway" between what two major cities?
(Pages 132-133)
New York City, Philadelphia
3. Use the map on page 132 of your textbook to name a major road that
very closely follows the path between the two major cities mentioned in question
# 2.
New Jersey Turnpike
4. Why was traveling during colonial times often very difficult? (Pages
134-135)
Every colonial road was crudely built. In the early years, travel was vetry
slow, tiresome, and costly.
5. Tell three ways that early settlers crossed New Jersey's rivers and
streams. (Pages 134-135)
Wide streams were crossed on ferryboats. People on horseback could ride across,
and if the river was deep and wide, the horse swam. Those on foot hoped to find
a shallow place where they could ford a stream or wade to the other side.
6. Who was responsible for building roads in colonial times? (Pages 134-135)
All men could be "warned out" to build or repair roads. Compulsory
service was usually limited to 6-8 days per year.
7. Why did the law require that every town in colonial New Jersey have
a tavern? (Pages 136-137)
Each town had to have a tavern for the convenience of travelers. Taverns
were village centers. Town meetings and court trials were held there, as well
as social events. Visitors stopped for meals or stayed overnight.
8. How were colonial roads repaired? (Pages 136-137)
Each spring repairs consisted of throwing large stones or tree trunks into
the muddy road lanes.
9. What is a ferryboat used for? (Pages 136-137)
Ferryboats are flatboats used to transport people and vehicles across a river
or body of water.
10. What is the difference between a "Conestoga wagon" and
a "stagecoach"? (Pages 136-137)
A wagon was mainly used to transport freight and good, while a stagecoach
was used mainly to transport people.
11. What was a "drover" and why did most people like to stay
away from him? (Pages 138-139)
A "drover" was a traveler who gathered pigs, sheep, goats or other
animals to sell at markets. Often he smelled like the animals.
12. What is a turnpike? In what year did New Jersey build its first turnpike?
(Pages 138-139)
A turnpike was a highway that charged each user a toll. Every few miles,
the road was closed off by a gate, called a "pike." When a traveler
paid the toll, the pike was "turned" (opened). New Jersey began building
its first turnpike in 1801.
13. What were plank roads made from? Why were they a big improvement
over earlier roads? (Pages 138-139)
The plank road was made of thick planks laid on logs. The wooden surfaces
were quite smooth to travel on until the planks began to rot.
14. For what purpose were canals built in New Jersey? (Pages 140-141)
Canals are man-made rivers connecting important towns and large bodies of
water, Water travel was not possible everywhere in New Jersey. The only way
to transport a large amount of freight was by water.
15. New Jersey's two canals during the nineteenth century were the Delaware
and Raritan Canal and the Morris Canal. (Pages 140-141)
16. Which of New Jersey's two canals was more difficult to build? Why?
(Pages 140-141)
The Morris Canal was easier to imagine than to build. Vessels had to be lifted
a total of 914 feet between Newark and Lake Hopatcong, then let down 760 feet
to the Delaware River. A system of locks and inclined planes was constructed
to accomplish this task.
17. How did engineers make it possible for boats to travel uphill? (Pages
140-141)
Engineers cleverly built "inclined planes," which were like small
railroads. On hills too steep for locks, boats were put on rails and towed up
the plane to where the land leveled off and water could be used again.
18. The first locomotives were powered by steam which was
created by burning wood and coal. (Pages 142-143)
19. John Stevens of Hoboken, New Jersey
invented the steam locomotive in the year 1826 . (Pages 142-143)
20. What were the early railroads like to travel on? (Pages 142-143)
"Iron Horses" - name given to steam locomotives by the Western
Indians. The first trains were small, crude and often very dirty to travel on.
21. What forms of transportation have taken away business from the railroads?
(Pages 142-143)
Trucks, buses and automobiles have taken away most of the railroad traffic.
22. How did New Jersey make history in 1912? (Pages 144-145)
History was made in 1912 when our state became the first to pave a road with
concrete - at New Village in Warren County.
23. Name New Jersey's three most important roads.
New Jersey Turnpike
Garden State Parkway
Atlantic City Expressway
Of these, the New Jersey Turnpike carries passengers between
the northern and southern ends of the state. (Pages 144-145)
24. Highways that connect states are called interstate.
Find one on a road map and tell what information you can decode from its number.
(Pages 144-145)
You might determine if it is N-S or E-W direction.
You may determine if it is a connecting road.
You may determine what the major route number is.
25. Newark International Airport is New Jersey's largest
airport. From here passengers can travel all over the world. (Pages
146-147)
26. Two other important New Jersey airports are located at Morristown
and Atlantic City. (Pages 146-147)
27. New Jersey's busiest ports are Newark and Elizabeth.
(Pages 146-147)
28. Name three other New Jersey ports. Locate them on a road map and
tell what county each is in. (Pages 146-147)
Camden, Camden County - special freighters or cargo ships
Salem, Salem County - soybeans and other farm products
Military Ocean Terminal, Hudson County - military shipping center
29. Today the major ways of crossing our rivers are by bridges
and tunnel.
These have replaced ferryboats which carried cars and people across
our waters until the early 1900's. (Pages 150-151)
30. Name two bridges that cross the Delaware River. (Pages 150-151)
The Delaware Memorial Bridge at deepwater in Salem County
The Walt Whitmann Bridge at Camden
31. Name some of the bridges and tunnels used to cross from New Jersey
to New York. (Pages 150-151)
The Holland Tunnel from Jersey City to New York
The George Washington Bridge from Fort Lee to New York
The Lincoln Tunnel from Weehawken to New York
The Bayonne Bridge, Goethal's Bridge, and Outerbridge
Other Resources:
New Jersey Department of Transportation
United States Department of Transportation Kids' Pages
Smithsonian Institute: History of Transportation
General Links, Government Agencies, Special Interest Groups
The Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission and State Park
