“The other parties saw this as a great morale booster and publicity, so they staged their own conventions beginning in that same year,” Kelly says. The Erie Canal, finished in 1825 ,was the engineering breakthrough of the 19th century. That thinking would change in the 19th century, however, when scientists determined such a canal could actually work. Dan Ward is curator of the Erie Canal Museum. established important transportation links … Kelly says that apprehension sparked an evangelical religious revival in the 1820s and 1830s along the canal route as well as the birth of religions such as Adventism and Mormonism. However, the Canal brought all sorts of travelers to New York City, as well as Philadelphia and Baltimore, quite possibly the largest and most populous cities at that time. The Erie Canal had a huge effect on the economy of New York. By providing a direct water route to the Midwest, the canal triggered large-scale emigration to the sparsely populated frontiers of western New York, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois. If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware. The Erie Canal in New York is part of the east–west, cross-state route of the New York State Canal System (formerly known as the New York State Barge Canal).It was built to create a navigable water route from New York City and the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, originally stretching for 363 miles (584 km) from the Hudson River in Albany to Lake Erie in Buffalo. “It gave New York City access to this huge area of the Midwest, and that was an enormous factor in establishing New York City as a premier port in the country.” As the gateway to the Midwest, New York City became America’s commercial capital and the primary port of entry for European immigrants. Although the Anti-Masonic Party quickly disappeared, it left behind a considerable political legacy. Your IP: 54.36.54.1 “Plus, they were expensive to build and maintain and had to be closed in the winter, so the railroad eventually took on a lot of the transportation function of the canals.”. The Erie Canal is said to be important due to diverse reasons to the economy and the state as a whole. The Erie Canal is purely a tourist attraction today, but it also attracted vacationers when it opened as well. That connection between the Hudson River in New York and Lake Erie became extremely important to Michigan, which at the time of its construction was on the road to statehood. It set America on a path of destiny, from a fledgling nation to a worldwide superpower. The canal impacted American culture, economics, politics, and more. Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal joined the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, linking the East with the West and for the first time allowing freight and settlers to easily move back and forth between the regions. The Erie Canal was a huge and immediate success as a transportation artery. During the late 1810s, Governor Thomas Worthington and Governor Ethan Allen Brown both supported internal improvements, especially canals. were funded exclusively by the states in which they were located. The Erie Canal brought not only rapid change, but anxiety, to towns along its path. The Erie Canal: Facilitating Travel TO Michigan Regardless of the prevailing views of Michigan’s land and climate, a more important factor is delaying any large-scale movement into Michigan in the immediate postwar years was the difficulty in reaching the territory.Transportation to Michigan by water was "dangerous, unreliable, and fraught with discomfort." • The Whigs and Democrats quickly followed suit. The Erie Canal connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes through the Port of New York and the Hudson & Mohawk Rivers, cutting the time needed via the St. Lawrence significantly. By providing cheaper and more efficient means to transport goods, the canal had a substantial and enduring impact on the economic development of New York State, as well as the United States as a whole. Definition: The Erie Canal was the nation's first Important transportation system connecting the Atlantic Ocean, via the Hudson River in Albany, eastern New York, with Lake Erie. By providing a direct water route to the Midwest, the canal triggered large-scale emigration to the sparsely populated frontiers of western New York, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois. Within a decade of the opening of the Erie Canal, tolls paid by barges had paid back the construction debt. The original canal was 4 feet deep and 40 feet wide, and floated boats carrying 30 tons of freight; over the next hundred years the canal was enlarged and the capacity of the vessels traversing the Erie Canal increased to a maximum of 1,600 tons. The canal had four waterways including the Erie, the Champlain, Oswego, and the Cayuga-Seneca which travel through New York. Between 1823 and 1828, several lateral Canals opened including the Champlain, the Oswego and the Cayuga-Seneca. The economic significance of this canal system launched New York far ahead of her The failure of any Freemasons to be brought to justice ignited such outrage along the canal route that it led to the creation of America’s first “third party”—the Anti-Masonic Party. Cloudflare Ray ID: 61691ab29fa40472 A major goal was to link Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes with the Atlantic Coast through a canal. It was significant because it connected Lake Erie and the Great Lakes system to the Hudson River, and thereby gave the western states direct access to the Atlantic Ocean without shipping goods downstream on the Mississippi River to New Orleans. Explore eight ways that the Erie Canal, which married the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes, altered the course of American history. That connection between the Hudson River in New York and Lake Erie became extremely important to Michigan, which at the time of its construction was on the road to statehood. “Southerners had been moving up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers into southern Ohio and southern Indiana, which did become sympathetic to slavery,” according to Jack Kelly, author of the new book “Heaven’s Ditch: God, Gold and Murder on the Erie Canal.” The Erie Canal checked that trend as the new settlers from New England, New York and Europe brought their abolitionist views with them to the newly established Midwest states. Goods from the west could be taken across the Great Lakes to Buffalo, then on the canal to Albany and New York City, and conceivably even to Europe. “They became filled with political pork,” Kelly says. The Ohio and Erie Canal was one of Ohio's most important canals during the mid nineteenth century. The Erie Canal was first opened in 1825. The amount of people in Flood Hazard Zones, that don't know they are in potential danger, is a serious issues now that Erie Canal Dams are being uncovered. Since ancient times, a passageway between the Red and Mediterranean Sea was sought after, but thought impossible due to differences in elevation. The completion in 1825 of the Erie Canal (below), connecting Lake Erie with the Hudson River, was an event of major importance in Michigan history because it greatly facilitated the transportation of passengers and freight between the eastern seaboard and Michigan ports. It transformed New York City into the nation’s principal seaport and opened the interior of North America to settlement. However, the Erie Canal is still used today by recreational watercraft. The Erie Canal was built from the Hudson River to Lake Erie. Ferdinand de Lesseps, a French diplomat, was responsible for developing the Suez Cana… He says the Erie Canal was incredibly influential on the history of Michigan. Prices drastically decreased on goods from Buffalo to the City of New York: From: $100 per ton (before the Erie Canal) To: between $5 and $10 per ton (after the Erie Canal)! © 2021 A&E Television Networks, LLC. All of upstate New York and the upper Ohio River valley were now connected to New York. The canal put New York on the map as the Empire State—the leader in population, industry, and economic strength. The Erie Canal played an important role in New York state's history, and -- through its influence on local tourism -- could play an important role in its future as well. What city took the lead as commercial center of the nation during the time of the canals.