1800's: The Different Causes Of The Erie Canal

The Erie Canal

During the 1800's, the Erie Canal help several different causes. Jesse Hawley came up with the idea to build a canal to connect and help trade. He never imagined it would do all of the things that it did do for the country. It took 8 years before the government passed the canal for construction. One big question through out history is how did the Erie canal change the united states for the better. The Erie canal had an enormous impact on America in several different ways like, religion, population, safety, money, and trade.

Two smaller things that spiked up were religion and population. Before the Erie canal was built many people thought destiny was a set path and there was no way to change it. After the

Before the Erie canal was built, the toll cost on a dirt road would be $100 per ton. Then the tool on the Erie canal was only $6 per ton (chart 1). It might seem like they would not make any money, but with how many people traveled on the canal they made thousands the time difference between traveling on the road and traveling on the canal was huge. On the road it was 15 to 45 days of travel, but on the canal travel time was only 9 days. That is a 36 day difference. That is a month that can be spent doing something more productive than traveling ( chart1.) there was an explosive amount of shipping and trade transported on the canal in the 19th century.(chart 4). From 1829 to 1841 trade of bushels of wheat went from zero to 1,000,000 ( chart 4). All in a span of less than 15 years. That is a remarkable growth, just like the money was. In the first 3 decades the canal earned a total amount of $450,000 (chart 2). A lot of that money went to New York, which soon became one of the richest states and cities in U.S.A.. So the Erie canal did all of these great things for

They helped shape the our world today in America. Some might think what that the Erie canal would never affect them. If it were not for the Erie canal all of the states would be far less advanced and developed. The Eerie canal really jumped started America.also women's rights and other various religions would not exist today.and slavery might still be okay in the Southern states. So the Erie canal really would have affected you whether you are black or white, male or female, or either an adult or child. Everyone is and was affected by the Erie canal for the