The Erie CanalHIS 121

ALYSSA GOODWIN

Before Canals

Roads Some paved

Main transportation Carriages

Horses

Why a Canal?

Previous Transportation Long

Rough

Uncomfortable

weather

Canals provided: Smooth sailing

Better for travel

Long distance

& trade

Easier to haul goods on boat rather than horse

The Proposal

Proposals made as early as 1768

Erie Canal proposed in 1808 by Governor of New York

DeWitt Clinton

Harsh criticism “Clinton’s Ditch” and/or “Clinton’s Folly”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeWitt_Clinton

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erie-canal_1840_map.jpg

The Plan

Stretch for 363 miles

40 feet wide, 4 feet deep

From Hudson River to Buffalo

Funds from the state, not national government

Importance

Big leap in engineering Symbolic

New country, but we can do it.

Resulted in new ideas

How it Works

When a boat approaches a lock, the first gate is open. Mules are attached by rope to the boat and the boat is pulled into lock. The first gate is then closed and the water rises. Horses are then re-

attached and the second gate is opened. Boat is then pulled through and gate is closed. Mules are un-attached and the boat

can continue on its way.

http://www.oce.nysed.gov/ctl/new/SocialStudies.html

How it Works Cont’d.

http://www.eriecanal.org/locks.html

Dilemas

Excavation

Hit rock often

Holes drilled by hand to put gunpowder in

Working Conditions

Low pay

Insects near water

Inventions

Cement! Canvass White

http://todayinsci.com/W/White_Canvass/WhiteCanvas-Obituary.htm

Completion

Governor DeWitt Clinton officially opened the canal in 1825

Took 8 years

http://www.eriecanal.org/general-1.html

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMEAGV_Erie_Canal_1817_1825

Results• Rapidly Paid for itself

• Easier travel/business

• Ideas Spread

• Boat yards = jobs

• Communities on river

http://www.albanyinstitute.org/building-the-erie-canal.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_turnpikes_and_canals_in_the_United_States

The End

HIS 121

Alyssa Goodwin

Works Cited A Breif History of the Erie Canal. n.d. http://eriecanalmuseum.org/history/ (accessed November 24,

2014).

Canal Era (1825-1850). n.d. http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ss5/b/ecotechcanall.cfm (accessed November 21, 2014).

Canal History. n.d. http://www.canals.ny.gov/history/history.html (accessed Novvember 23, 2014).

Erie Canal. n.d. http://www.nycanals.com/Erie_Canal (accessed November 23, 2014).

History & Culture. November 12, 2014. http://www.nps.gov/erie/historyculture/index.htm (accessed November 24, 2014).

Larkin, F. Daniel. Building the "Grand Canal". n.d. http://www.archives.nysed.gov/projects/eriecanal/essays/ec_larkin.shtml (accessed November 23, 2014).

Lord Jr., Philip. Essay About the Erie Canal. n.d. http://www.archives.nysed.gov/projects/eriecanal/essays/ec_lord.shtml (accessed November 23, 2014).

Percy, John W. The Erie Canal: From Lockport to Buffalo. October 2002. http://www.buffaloah.com/h/erieC/percy/percy.html (accessed November 24, 2014).

Raphael, Aaron Craig. November 6, 1996. http://www.eriecanal.org/texts/Canvass.html (accessed November 21, 2014).

Root, Mary M. THE BUILDING OF THE ERIE CANAL. n.d. http://www.surveyhistory.org/building_the_erie_canal.htm (accessed November 23, 2014).

Sadowski Jr., Frank E. "Clinton's Big Ditch". n.d. http://www.eriecanal.org/ (accessed November 21, 2014).