The Road Of The Grand Canal Essay

In The Artificial River, Carol Sheriff describes how when the digging of the Erie Canal began on July 4, 1817, no one would have been able to predict that the canal would even be considered a paradox of progress. One of the major contradictions of progress was whether or not triumphing art over nature was even considered progress. People were not sure during the nineteenth century if changing the environment for industrialization was necessarily a good thing. Another contradiction to progress that resulted from the Erie Canal was when people started holding the state government responsible for all their financial misfortunes. An additional contradiction to progress that the Erie Canal displayed was how many of its workers were either

The innovation of maritime technology has revolutionized travel throughout history. Prior to ships and sea travel, humans were separated by vast oceans and confined to their homeland for life. Because of these large boundaries, discoveries and inventions were only shared within land masses and trade as a whole was very limited. This uncharted, inaccessible territory caused a major separation of mankind. However, these oceans sparked curiosity and desire for explorers to venture beyond their native land. This curiosity was the driving force to the invention of naval travel, a highly important and massive step for all growing communities during the Age of Exploration. Maritime technology’s advancements through history greatly aided in the Age of Exploration, allowing provinces to break their land boundaries and make monumental steps towards the advanced world humans populate today.

The canal is bordered on both sides by the Panama Canal Zone, a strip of land given to the United States in 1903 but returned to Panama in 1979. The United States turned over the control of the canal to Panama in 1999. While the Panama Canal is a bridge of water connecting two oceans, building it ripped Panama apart. For Panama the opening of the canal meant a great boom in it's economy.

Water travel was not the only way of travel revolutionized during the Market Revolution. Land travel was greatly improved by the first railroad being built in the late 1820’s. It was a quicker, cheaper, and much easier way of transporting goods. Railroads could get you from one place to another in a very short amount of time, therefore being “very pleasant to people in a hurry.” (280). In the 1840’s, there was the same length of railroads as there was canals, therefore

Ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes referred to as the “Cradle of Civilization”, was located in the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, bringing the Greek origin of its name, of “land between rivers”. There were two very different regions in ancient Mesopotamia:

The construction of the Suez and Panama Canals greatly affected overseas trade and commerce. The Suez Canal, which connected the Mediterranean and Red Seas though the Isthmus of Suez, had a large impact on the world economy by greatly reducing the amount of travel time required to send goods to different regions, The Panama Canal, which was built through the Isthmus of Panama, also had a similar effect on commerce by connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. There were different motivations for the building of the Panama and Suez Canals, and their construction was hindered by challenging obstacles. The French used the idea that Egypt would flourish with the building of the Suez Canal to motivate the Egyptians to give permission for its construction.

Study of the Silk Road has made it obvious that Eurasian history was more than isolated histories of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Europe, India, Southeast Asia, and China. In reality, for several thousand years, the Silk Road ensured that these regions were never

In the early 19th century, the Erie Canal was one of the largest and most expensive projects like this of it’s time. The canal connected New York city to the great lakes to increase trade of luxury items. Sheriff adequately explained the impact of the canal on different parts of society- farmers, ditch diggers, the captains of the canal boats, housewives, merchants, and missionaries. One of the most interesting parts of this book is that many of their societal problems that they faced during the antebellum period are reflected in our time. The Artificial River also explains the paradox of progress that the citizens of New York faced due to the building of the canal, they wanted all the different luxuries that they couldn’t have where they lived, like pearls and oysters, but they didn’t want to change their lifestyles.

The game had 2:14 left when the Indians faced a fourth and three and once again they elected to go for it. This time the decision was made good when,Tanner Conley picked up 10-yards on a run right up the gut. A 24-yard field goal from Thompson gave the Indians a 24-14 lead.

Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree then it will live its whole live believing that it is stupid. (Albert Einstein) Beginning in 1817 and opened in its entirety in 1825, the Erie Canal is considered the engineering marvel of the 19th century. When the government concluded that the project was too ambitious to undertake, the State of New York took on the task of carving 363 miles of canal through the wilderness with nothing but the muscle power of men and horses. The question that I will attempt to answer in this essay is “How did the Erie Canal change America?” The creation of the Erie Canal would lead to a Jurassic change on America in the way we trade, and will lead

The Erie Canal had a major impact on trades from Canada. First of all, before the canal, people had to trade from coming dirt roads (Doc.2). Traveling on dirt road was time consuming. It took 28 days to reach Buffalo from New York City (Doc. 2). After the canal was built, it only 8 days. Not to mention, the cost per ton was cut down about 90 bucks (Doc. 2). This paved the way for New York City to become the busiest port city in America. (Doc. 1). Also, farmers were helped by this change. When the crops were ready to be transported, farmers loaded them onto ships in the canal and took them to different places(OI). Virginia Schomp called the growth because of the canal a “terrific boon”(Doc. 1). As a result, America was changed forever.

Known as the “cradle of civilization”, the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia was the first known society that began near rivers. The Tigris and Euphrates were natural barriers as well as a source of maintenance for a growth in population. The rivers served as a source throughout the Fertile Crescent within Mesopotamia. These rivers provided a means of transportation which ultimately led to trading and it had fertile soil. Through trading with other civilizations such as Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, the economy of Mesopotamia would flourish as well as incorporate cultural diffusion. Settlements were mostly situated along the river banks since the land was more fertile. The Sumerians were one set of people who occupied Mesopotamia in Sumer. The two rivers were able to help them to have urbanization, thus domesticating animals. The city of Harappa and Mohenjo- Daro are also similar to the Mesopotamian civilization because they also built cities along the Indus River, and traded during the ancient times. This river civilization corresponds to that of the Nile River that is located in Egypt. Since Egypt was a desert, the Nile River provided a slew of resources. Tigris and Euphrates were also related to the Nile River because, whenever they flooded over, it was an advantage for farmers because it fertilized the

Many thousands of years ago, upon the earliest creations of civilization, there were two thriving civilizations. Both of which knew little to nothing about each other’s existence. In this ancient world, there was no connection of the two civilizations, no trade in commerce or culture. It was not until the second century BC that Europe and Eastern Asia interacted in a significant way. What is known as “The Silk Road” was established during the Han Dynasty of China, it was a network of trade routes that created a link between these two regions during this ancient world (ancient.eu). Though these routes have history prior to the Han Dynasty, this is when many historians see the routes in full practice. This time during the second century BC was crucial in the connection of these separately thriving civilizations, connecting them through commerce, religion, and exploration.

Long distance trading had made it possible for people from different cultures to interact. Silk roads were one of the famous trade routes that were used in the ancient time. It stretched from China to central Asia and westward. It merged into one big series of routes. Traders traveled segments of the route, passing their goods on to others who took them further along the road, and in turn, passed them on again. The effect of long-distance exchanges altered the political geography of Afro-Eurasia. The Middle East became a commercial middle ground between the Mediterranean and Indian. The horse-riding nomads of Inner Eurasia made long-distance trade possible. Kushan empire in Afghanistan and the Indus River basin embraced a large and diverse

According to Ahmad Hasan Dani’s Centre of the Study of the Civilization of Central Asia: Roads are by definition channels of communication between one place and another, one region and another, one people and another, and one civilization and another (Sugimura & Umesao 21). They provide a means of connection and while “some roads are transitory, others secure a permanent place in human history” (Sugimura & Umesao 21). One such road, known as the Silk Road, contributed inestimably to the ancient world of Eurasia and played a significant role in both “cultural and commercial advancements” (Sugimura & Umesao i). This route promoted a network of trade of not only goods and merchandise, but also new ideas and techniques all of which were brought to various regions especially during the Tang dynasty. Because of trade and the Silk Road, cultural exchanges were made possible and “western countries shared the learnings and culture that flourished in the Chinese capital” (Sugimura & Umesao i). Although there were disadvantages of the Silk Road because of banditry and spread of disease, this network of trade nevertheless connected the ancient Eastern and Western worlds through the spread of religion, culture and politics.