Water Transportation in the Jacksonian Era
Water travel assisted heavily with transportation of goods and people from the American north-east to the west, which would eventually create a separation from the south.
Before any canals were even built, there was a great demand for better transportation to and from the west. During this time of exploration, something was necessary in order for settlement to progress. After the canals were built, people living in to north grew exceedingly wealthy from the trading benefits of the canals. This wealth would eventually create economic differences with the southern United States(Drago 178).
During the Jacksonian Era, in America, there were many changes happening, one of which was western expansion. During this time, Louis and Clark had already explored the west, but people were dying to be able to trade, and live there. With the grueling journey that would effect anyone trying to reach the west, came a new notion, of a canal that reached from Lake Erie on towards the east. This canal could transport people, as well as goods back and forth from the newly explored territory. Eventually this dream successfully became a reality.
The chief builder of the Erie Canal was DeWitt Clinton, a powerful man who was to become the governor of New York. In 1816, Clinton petitioned New York legislature to let him build the canal, which was a success(Erie). The construction of the canal took about eight years, however many hardships such as floods, and malaria plagued construction.
Many people also said that the canal was too short, as it originally only stretched from the Hudson to Lake Champlain. People wanted a canal that would take them all the way from Erie to Champlain. Although this created even more problems, the canal was completed successfully in 1825(Bourne 118).
While all of this was going on, the ideas for another major canal were just coming together. The Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal, was just beginning near the time the Erie’s construction finished up. The C&O canal would mostly be used to transport coal to Cumberland, Maryland. The building of the canal ended on June 11, 1850, at Cumberland. Although not the economic giant that the Erie was, the C&O canal reached it’s peak in 1870, during which tolls often topped $1,000(Drago 71).
After the construction of the canals was finished, there was a gre...
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...d many slaves, so they thought slavery was justified. In conclusion, water travel benefited many northerners, but did not help those living in the south. Eventually, this difference resulted in the south become less economically strong, ending a long trade relationship with the north, which would soon evolve into the War Between the States, or the Civil War.
Bibliography
Bourne, Russell. Floating West. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1992
Bourne, Russell. Floating West. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1992. page 76.
Bourne, Russell. Floating West. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1992. page 83.
Drago, Harry Sinclair. Canal Days in America: The History and Romance of Old Towpaths and Waterways. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1972.
Drago, Harry Sinclair. Canal Days in America: The History and Romance of Old Towpaths and Waterways. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1972. page 48.
Drago, Harry Sinclair. Canal Days in America: The History and Romance of Old Towpaths and Waterways. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1972. page 166.
“Erie Canal.” Electric Library. 9 Jan. Hadfield, Charles. The Canal Age. New York: Frederick A. Praeger Publishers, 1968.
Gregory Wigmore’s article Before the Railroad: From Slavery to Freedom in the Canadian-American Borderland covers the main theme of local history during the 19th century in Detroit and Windsor. In particular, Wigmore looks at how the Detroit River served as an escape route between the transnational borders for slaves living on both sides of the river. Wigmore explores how the border was the godsend for the slaves because a simple cross across the river would allow them their freedom. Wigmore’s main focus is the many factors and laws that happened between the 1810’s and the 1820’s that played an important role in this freedom.
At the beginning, may be the intentions were changing through its construction process. But it certainly the canal had the support of workers and opposition on top of this many people. A interesting aspect I could say it is that The Erie cans was financed by the New York Stated and...
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Eibling, Harold H., et al., eds. History of Our United States. 2nd edition. River Forest, Ill: Laidlaw Brothers, 1968.
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Breen, T.H., H.W. Brands, et al. America: Past and Present. Upper Saddle River NJ: Pearson, Print.
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The expansion of the west happened in a lot of places west of the Mississippi. One of the most important setting was the Louisiana Purchase which was bought in 1803, the 828,000 square miles of land nearly doubled the size of the U...
... line the canal today. The development of the railroad in the 19th century and the automobile in the 20th century sealed the fate of the Erie Canal.