Which innovation in transportation connected the Northeast to the Mid-

West by creating a "boat highway"? *

A. Bessemer Steel Process

B. Railroads

C. steamboats

D. Erie Canal

A.

The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is removal of impurities from the iron by oxidation with air being blown through the molten iron. The oxidation also raises the temperature of the iron mass and keeps it molten.