The Erie Canal Essay

The Erie Canal provided an extremely fast source of transportation compared to other ones of that time. A lot of the land that the Canal went through was uninhabited and therefore people weren’t able to move through these areas. Once the Canal was built it served as that pathway through these areas. The Canal also was a much cheaper source of transportation that was used by residents, tourists, emigrants, and workers during this time. Evangelical preachers used the artificial

. In the first chapter, "Visions of Progress," Sheriff describes the "culture or visions of progress." She notes that the inhabitants of the canal corridor combined an "individualistic, or liberal" pursuit of wealth with a belief that "the goals of individuals should be subordinated to the common good, or the commonwealth" (p. 14). The first details the visions of leading New Yorkers to get the project underway. These individuals were what Sheriff calls “adherents to the practical republicanism” who believed that “the nation’s common good depended on prosperity, individual opportunity and an equal emphasis on rural and urban growth” (p.24). Most prominently, Governor DeWitt Clinton acted in this project. A rather gigantic project such as the Erie Canal would further their visions of progress.

The Grand Coulee Dam, located in Eastern Washington, was one of controversy, risk, and a point of no return. While the water captured made the desert area blossom in agriculture and it powered some large cities, it created a sense of accomplishment, that humans can control Mother Nature. While many people were very excited for this new construction – which gives power and resources - at the time, some thought it should not be allowed, they are not proud of containing the Columbia River. In this analysis, I am going to focus on the economic and social effects that the Grand Coulee Dam created in its build.

Numerous factors brought unity to an adolescent nation which prevailed the confidence Americans needed for self-identity. As rapid mass-communication and transportation became easily available, any individual had the luxury of pursuing a life with personal freedoms just a grasp away. Moving west was made attractive for numerous reasons. For example, shipping products such as beaver fur enable a fashionable trend which sparked a demand in garments. The construction of the Erie Canal in 1825 that connected the Great Lakes with the Hudson River boomed the motivation, whether it was cost effective or not, completing miles into small distances, according to a journalist, “In thirty-six minutes we had passed near three miles, and reached the east of an embankment about 136 chains long across the valley of the Sedaqueda creek”. This economic process boomed with new opportunities for average Americans during the Era of Good Feeling. The early republic also had more busted effects from internal

People often wonder how the continents, states, and other landforms develop their shape and structure. Our earth, continents, countries, and states developed over billions of years and water played a huge roll in the development, shape, and structure. Within this exploratory essay you will gain knowledge on how Michigan, specifically, was shaped and how water affects the state in many ways and will continue to do so every single day until the earth ceases to exist.

The Erie canal helped shape America. The Northwest was expanding and needed to get their products to the east coast. However, they seemed to be lacking a water source. Since the Erie canal was connected from the Hudson river to the Great lakes this made it possible for farmers to transport goods to the east coast without a problem. The Erie canal paved the pathway to a more stable America and an economic growth by allowing transportation, trade, exporting and importing goods to be more accessible through the United States. “This great work will immortalize the present authorities of N.Y. will bless their descendants with wealth and prosperity, and prove to mankind the superiority wisdom of employing the resources of industry in works of improvement rather than destruction.” The canal combined trade and transportation allowing for commerce to help speed up the Industrialization in the United States after the Erie canal was

The astounding achievement of building the Panama Canal did not come without great loss. Within great achievement and betterment of the world, sometimes comes great tragedy. Great change also doesn’t happen without a strong fight. The workers who helped build the canal knew what they were up against. They knew that famine, disease, dangerous jobs, and a great deal of loss of human life laid ahead, but these workers were willing to sacrifice everything to see this canal built. They knew the economic implications of having a canal like this. They wanted to make their personal country’s economy better environments for their wives and children to thrive in and make a better life for their ancestors. This could be done with the money they made working on the canal, as well as how their own children would live in more stable economies in their home countries because of the canal. They were willing to fight for the great change that eventually ensued.

First off, The Erie Canal changed America in many different ways such as trade, travel safety, and woman's rights (Background Essay) It took 8 years to complete the Erie Canal, it was 363 miles long, when they finished it, it had become a much safer way for transportation (Doc 4). People got killed while traveling " A young English woman met with her death a short time since, she having fallen asleep with her head upon a box, had her head crushed to pieces." The Erie Canal has made transportation more safer for other to travel places, it not only was safer but much faster, It made traffic go faster by making this Canal. Finally, the Canal brought less dangerous traffic, they had really low bridges so they knew they were coming to a town.

The Canal committee proposed to change the route of the canal. The people brought to the committee's attention that the state had an informal obligation to leave the Canal how it was. The paradox of progress returns in the fact that now that the Canal has been constructed there are some people that want to change its

Secondly, the C&O canal had many different developments in the period following it’s completion. However these developments were not nearly as good. The contractors, and engineers proved that they could not correctly build the canal, as they did not finish in the predicted time(Bourne).The C&O canal was not a financial success, and there were no economically enriched areas as there were with the Erie Canal. By the late 1870s, the canal had passed it’s peak of prosperity, and by 1881, it could not be stopped(Drago 71). However, the social effects were in some cases larger than the economic effects.

In 1852, New York State completed the Erie canal; Governor Morris proposed it in 1777. Irish laborers dug most of the Erie canal when work began in 1817. Next, Ohio wanted a canal, in 1825, work on their canal began. Malaria and cholera killed thousands of workers. After eight years of work, in 1833, Ohio opened its

The Rideau Canal is the oldest continuously operating canal in North America; operated today much as they were in 1832-1834 when they first opened. Maintained by Parks Canada and their lock staff. Becoming employed on the Rideau Canal is a fantastic opportunity whether you are a lockmaster, canalman, or a student; for each of these positions you have to complete a test varying in difficulty the higher the positon is.

Discoveries, new ideas, and progress help give you a different perspective on projects to make the future better for people. The Erie Canal project in 1817, which was linked to many Great Lakes to the Atlantic Coast and settlers from New York would see it as opportunity to transport goods such as oysters up and down the Erie Canal. ““Progress” or “Improvement” meant, in large part, that men and women were taking an active role in realizing a divinely sanctioned movement toward the perfectibility of the natural and human worlds.” (pg.5) Change is on the rise and the revolutions in transportation, marketing, and industry, and rapid urbanization helped grow opportunity to make money and create a better way to move products in the North and Midwest

Prior to the Civil War, the antebellum period of America brought forth a miniature technological revolution. Starting with canals, private American companies began investing in building new ways to connect the country. After the construction of the Erie Canal, America experienced a boom of canal-building that lasted into the 1840s when railroads surpassed them in efficiency. Railroads proved to be faster, more direct, and more reliable than their canal or turnpike cousins. The rail system grew so quickly that in the 1830s there was more milage of railroad tracks than there were canals. Soon, the eastern coast was connected to the western side of the Mississippi River, Chicago, and the Great Lakes.

The coal seams ran under the higher ground to the north. The Duke's land agent, John Gilbert, saw that it was possible to connect the canal directly to the mines by way of an underground canal. This in turn could be used to help with draining the mines, providing a source of water for the canal.” Canals changed the way we collected goods, and they made it much more facile to transport them.