Why was New Orleans important to the Americans in the 1800's century?

Answer 1

New Orleans is at the mouth of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico and that means that ships could come in load/unload and also go up river to the cities/towns on the river. This made it very important for business and shipping.

Answer 2

New Orleans was and is a primary shipping point, both from the Mississippi River and the Gulf. Northerns and North-easterners, and north-midwesterners could ship down the Ohio River across to the Mississippi River and on to the Gulf. This meant almost half of the north, middle states, and southern states in the US could find ways to utilize the river systems, through wagon, horseback, trains, and river barges. Coal, farm crops, and livestock was shipped from PA, WVA, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. The river-to-Gulf access meant avoiding hard travel across and through the Appalachian Mountains and its various mountain chains from New England States down to Georgia and diagonally to Kentucky. Without OWNING New Orleans, the French could have enacted exporting taxes, etc. on US goods. Also, the river-Gulf access meant keeping Americans working. At the time, slavery was still ongoing, and large plantations shipped cotton and tobacco. Without New Orleans, the US would have suffered high losses of products and lives through Atlantic Ocean / eastern seaboard shipping. They would have needed to cross the Appalachian Mountains and various chains when going east, adding time and risking goods and lives. Eastern ports would have become bottle-necks with backlogs of shipping waiting at ports. Vessels would have had risks along the Atlantic shore. Other bays and river systems could not have handled the steady stream of shipping, especially because water there was / is shallower than the Mississippi. They could have still shipped north to the Great Lakes and Canada, but the Lakes freeze in winter and shipwrecks were common on the Lakes. So there were numerous land obstacles and Mississippi River-Gulf benefits that support why we needed New Orleans.

Answer 3

Because it was the biggest city in the Confederacy, and the key to the Mississippi.

Answer 4

Because it was a perfect place for settling and it gave good access to the Mississippi River.-From a 7th grade teacher (= /an 8th grader micky

Answer 5

New Orleans was important to America because many American goods passed through it's port at the mouth of the Mississippi River.