CANALS

Canals have been used by ancient civilizations including the Assyrians, Egyptians, and the Chinese. Linking important waterways, canals are of great importance to transportation and commerce. Today, the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal link major bodies of water allowing for global shipping. During the 1800s, canals linked the developed cities of the east to developing cities of the west. Towns founded on waterways have always been the most successful and this pattern again followed in the Northwest Territory. Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit all became major cities because of their proximity to bodies of water. Shipping over water was one of the fastest and cheapest ways to transport goods. Canals increased the distance that goods could be shipped and led to the interconnection of Atlantic coastal cities and frontier towns.
 

The first canal in the US was built around the rapids of the Connecticut River in 1793. In 1817, the Erie Canal was built leading to an era of increased frontier settlement. Until the increased use of the railroad, the canal industry was the leading way to transport goods. Canal construction was usually undertaken by the use of employed manual labor. The sides of the canal are often faced with masonry to prevent erosion of the banks. In addition, locks needed to be used because changes in elevation and terrain disrupted the straight flow of a canal.
The idea of the Erie Canal was first proposed by Governor Dewitt Clinton of New York in 1808. It was often referred to as “Clinton’s folly” or “Clinton’s ditch.” Construction of the canal was begun July 4, 1817 and finally completed October 25, 1825. The canal provided the first link from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic, providing a great opportunity for westward expansion. It spanned 363 miles, with 18 aqueducts, to provide bridges over rivers and various obstacles. It had 83 locks, which allowed changes in the elevation of the canal, and totaled a 655 ft. change in elevation. The technology of the time was much more primitive than today’s technology; construction was done with the use of a horse and by hand. The canal had many effects on the economy of the country. New York went from being the fifth largest seaport in the country in 1825 to being the busiest in 1840. The canal was enlarged to allow for larger boats between 1836 and 1862, and made $42 million in profit by the time tolls stopped being collected in 1883, paying off the construction debt in 1845. Many New York farmers, after enjoying short-lived prosperity, moved west to the more fertile land of the Ohio Valley. It has been suggested that the Erie Canal may have affected the outcome of the Civil War, shifting the alliances of the western states from the south to the north. Had the canal not been constructed, the country could be much different from what it is today.

*Pictures from Encarta Encyclopedia, http://www.syracuse.com/features/
eriecanal/intro.html, http://my.ohio.voyager.net/~lstevens/canal/canalmap.html, and http://www.eriecanal.org/index.html

SOURCES:
"Canal (waterway)”. Microsoft Encarta Electronic Encyclopedia Edition 2002.

• Used to double check the other canal references. It is not very detailed but had the basic outline needed for general information. It has useful pictures.

“Canal History”. Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor. National Park Service. 01 Jan 2003. <http://www.nps.gov/dele/>

• Had good information but was often too specific to the Delaware region but it was a trustworthy source.

“Erie Canal Chronology and Bibliography.” 31 Jan. 2004. <http://www.history.rochester.edu/canal/chron.htm>

• This site had some general information about the canal, including dimensions.

Sadowski, Frank.“Clinton’s Big Ditch.” The Erie Canal. 31 Jan. 2004. <http://www.eriecanal.org/index.html>

• This site had some helpful basic information about the canal, and provided the above picture.

“The Erie Canal: A Journey Through History.” Epodunk. 2 Feb. 2004. <http://www.epodunk.com/routes/erie-canal/>

• This site had a brief history of the canal, but it was very useful, containing some information not as easily found elsewhere.

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