by Lisa M. Cocca HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT

by Lisa M. Cocca HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT

by Lisa M. Cocca PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: 4 (b) Digital Stock; 10 (b) Charles Smith/Corbis All other photos Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers All art Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers, Attn: Permissions, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777. Printed in China ISBN-10: 0-547-25321-4 ISBN-13: 978-0-547-25321-3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0940 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited. Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.

A group of boys stand on a dock looking out into a harbor. They watch as men lift and load cargo onto the ships. They see the tidal waves foaming as they crash against the ships. The boys aren t worrying about the hard work. They aren t even worrying about the dangerous sea. They are too busy daydreaming. They dream about a ship that can sail faster than any of the ships in the harbor. 2

A Growing Need Boys weren t the only people dreaming of faster ships in 1840. The world was growing and changing. People needed to move faster to keep up with the changes. America was rich in natural resources. Great forests covered much of the land. They provided lumber for many uses. People needed wood to build houses, furniture, and ships. Rich soil also covered much of the land. This made it possible for farmers to grow large crops. Farmers grew food and cash crops such as cotton and tobacco. Metals and minerals such as salt were also important resources. 3

Inventors were busy, too. They made machines that changed how people worked. New machines cut and shaped the wood faster than ever before. Other machines turned cotton into thread and thread into cloth. Because machines did these and other jobs so much faster, people made more goods at a lower cost. Cotton bolls ready for harvest. Cotton was an important cash crop for American business. 4

Turning cotton into fabric was big business. In the mid- 1800s, the work was moved from cottages to factories. Cotton loom 5

More goods meant a need for more customers. There was no shortage of markets in the world. Pioneers had moved as far west as California. The new towns meant new markets for the goods. America also had many resources other countries did not have. Americans used those resources and new or improved machines to make goods faster and for less money. This opened more markets around the world to American goods. Many people moved to California before the Gold Rush began. 6

The spread of markets around the world created new challenges. How could people move goods to the customers? New roads and trains helped, but did not solve the problem. Wagons moved slowly in good weather, and not at all in many poor weather conditions. Trains could only go where there were tracks. An ocean divided America from its markets in Europe. Ships were the answer to the problem. 7

Clippers People were growing and making more goods. The cost of shipping those goods was also rising. Sea captains knew the quicker they safely delivered goods, the more trips they could take and the more money they could make. The speed that early cargo ships could make was betrayed by their broad width. Clipper ships sailed faster, because the front of the ship was narrower. This allowed it to cut through the water more quickly. Unfortunately, the new shape left less room for cargo. The Golden Age of Sail was also the Golden Age of Piracy. Sea captains needed to keep their crew and cargo safe by sailing faster than the pirate ships. 8

Yankee Clippers How could a ship builder use the speed of a clipper to move goods? This question haunted a man named Nat Palmer. Nat had a yearning for the sea from a young age. He was still a teenager when he first became captain of a ship. Like many young men in the mid-1800s, Nat had a need for speed. He had seen many of the long, narrow boats often used by fishermen in New England. This gave him an idea for a ship that used the V-shaped bottom of the clippers in a new way. 9

Nat needed help to make the idea a reality. He was not an architect, nor was he a shipbuilder. On top of that, building a ship cost a great deal of money. Nat was not a rich man. Finding people to help with these things was not easy. Nat s idea was so different that many people were horrified to take a chance on it working. The masts on the Yankee Clippers rose much higher than the masts on other boats of the time. Despite this, the term tall ship was rarely used during the Golden Age of Sail. masts 10

Shipbuilders at work For a while, it looked like Nat s idea might never be tested. Then on one memorable day, he met Edward Collins. Edward owned a successful shipbuilding company. He believed in Nat s idea and agreed to put up the money to build the ship. Together they went in search of an architect. John Willis Griffiths was a designer who loved new ideas. He was the right architect for the project. 11

They had the idea, they had the money, and they had the design. Only one more piece was missing. They needed someone to build the ship. The men hired Donald McKay to be the lead builder. The idea became a reality. The Yankee Clipper ships were long and sleek, with four-cornered sails. Most important, they were fast and built to carry cargo. Donald McKay became famous for building clipper ships. His ship the Great Republic was 302 feet long. It was the biggest American clipper ship ever built. 12

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow Seafaring men raced with each other across the oceans. Many Yankee Clipper captains set world records. One ship, the John Baines, sailed from Boston to England in under 13 days. Although the Yankee Clippers cut much time from trips, most journeys were still long. The Flying Cloud set a record when it sailed from New York to San Francisco. That trip around Cape Horn took 89 days. Successful Sails SHIP ROUTE LENGTH of JOURNEY James Baines around the world 133 days Nightingale Shanghai to London 91 days Sea Witch Canton to New York 81 days Richard Robinson New York to Bombay 88 days Flying Cloud New York to San Francisco 89 days Sea captains were often away from home for long periods of time. Many of them took their families on board for long trips. 13

New ideas helped businesses grow in America. These ideas created a need for the Yankee Clipper. Yet, another new idea brought an end to the clipper cargo ships. By the end of the 1850s, steam-engine ships made the clippers outcasts. These new ships did not depend completely on the winds. They could move goods faster and cheaper than the clippers. By the late 1850s, the steamer was more useful and more popular for shipping goods great distances. 14

Responding TARGET VOCABULARY Word Builder Make a Four Square Map around the word seafaring. What words would you use to describe a seafarer? Copy the graphic below and add more words. brave seafaring Write About It Text to Self The sailors who built and sailed the clipper ships liked adventure. Write a paragraph describing an adventure you have had. Include at least two words from the World Builder in your description. 15

TARGET VOCABULARY betrayed condition foaming horrified memorable outcast seafaring shortage tidal yearning TARGET STRATEGY Infer/Predict Use text clues to figure out what isn t exactly stated by the author. What did the angry wave say to the beach? I m so mad; I m at the mouth. 16

Level: P DRA: 38 Science Strategy: Infer/Predict Word Count: 870 4.1.5 Build Vocabulary HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Online Leveled Books 1387981