Erie Canal

Erie Canal Changing America The Erie Canal finished in 1825 went from Lake Erie to the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean. It was built in the search for a better way of transportation from the Old Northwest to the East Coast. The Erie Canal seemed impossible to build by many but it was eventually built overcoming some challenges along the way. The Erie Canal had many positive effects on America but had a few negative consequences. The difficulty in the transportation of goods from Old Northwest to the East Coast lead to the construction of the Erie canal which seemed impossible but is completed successfully and impacted America in many ways. The search for efficient routes through the Appalachian Mountains gives birth to the idea of the Erie Canal. During the earlier 1800’s farmland was becoming scarce on the East Coast. As a result many farmers traveled west over the Appalachian Mountains where there was plenty of rich farmland in the Old Northwest for them to cultivate (Benson, Brannen, and Valentine 515-519). People who settled in the Old Northwest faced the problem of transporting the goods East through the Appalachian Mountains. The only water way for transportation was the Mohawk River which still did not get travelers and goods entirely to the East Coast. This caused many to ship goods by land which was costly and time consuming (Sheriff 251-253). Benson, Brannen and Valentine describe the East’s interest and concern in constructing a route saying, “Eastern port cities, such as Baltimore, Maryland; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and New York City, competed vigorously to be the first to forge transportation links with the Old Northwest” (515-519). The mountains were a huge obstacle though making it almost impossible to build any sort of transportation such as roads, trains, or canals. Except in New York there was a passage low enough for the possibility of a water passage (Benson, Brannen, and Valentine 515-519). The problems of transportation and

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