THE ERIE CANAL

By: Nora Puryear

REASONS

Geological barriers, ex. Appalachian Mountains

Poor roads

Wanted to expand further with trade

ROUTEConnected to the port of NYC, beginning at the Hudson River, flowing into NY Bay. Then, from Troy, to Rome, through Syracuse and Rochester, to Buffalo on the NE coast of Lake Erie (Rosenberg).

DOUBTS

Largest canal at the time only 27 miles.

So many doubted 363 mile canal possible.

Federal government would not fund it.

NYC had to come up with the funds on its own.

(“Erie Canal”)

CLINTON’S BIG DITCH

Erie Canal was nicknamed “Clinton’s Big Ditch” after DeWitt Clinton, mayor of NYC, later gov., because of the impact he had on it (“Erie”).

HOW THE LOCKS LOOK TODAY

PLANS FOR THE LOCKS

HO W THE CAN AL’S L OCKS LO O KED BACK THEN

DEWITT CLINTON

“Gov. Dewitt Clinton at the opening ceremony marking the completion of the Erie Canal ahead of schedule in 1825.” (“The Key Players”)

OPENING THE WATERS

Clinton sailed from Buffalo to NYC on the canal and emptied a barrel of Lake Erie Water into the Atlantic Ocean as part of the grand opening of the Canal (“Erie”).

WORKERS

The job took thousands of workers, many being European immigrants because the US paid three times more than their home countries would pay for any type of job (Rosenberg).

They had to dig it all by hand.

COST

Canal cost $7 million

Federal Government would not fund

NYC had to come up with money on its own

Paid it off by the use of tolls

(Rosenberg)

NEW ADVANCEMENTS

New advancements such as the railroads and automobiles basically ended the Erie Canal’s business (Rosenberg).

The canal is now mainly used for recreational reasons.

WORKS CITEDInformation

“Erie Canal.” 2000. Infoplease.com. (November 23, 2013). <http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/us/erie-canal.html>.

“Erie Canal.” Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (November 23, 2013). <http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401801410.html>.

Rosenberg, Matt. "Erie Canal." About.com. N.p., 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. <http://geography.about.com/od/urbaneconomicgeography/a/eriecanal.htm>.

"The Key Players." In The Erie Canal. Low Bridge Productions, 2005. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.lowbridgeproductions.com/erie-canal-images-key-players.html>.

WORKS CITED

PicturesSadowski, Frank E., Jr. "Images of the Erie Canal in Syracuse." Erie Canal Images. N.p., 2006. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://eriecanal.org/Syracuse.html>.

"Tennessee River." Tennessee River. N.p., 2007. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.janetcrane.com/tugtardis/037ErieCanal.htm>.

“The Erie Canal.” Locks on the Erie Canal. 2000. Eriecanal.org. (November 23, 2013). <http://eriecanal.org/>.

"The Key Players." In The Erie Canal. Low Bridge Productions, 2005. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.lowbridgeproductions.com/erie-canal-images-key-players.html>.

"Page16." Page16. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://sunnycv.com/steve/civilwar/01/page16.html>.