Erie Canal Life In Antebellum America

Before the creation of the Erie Canal life in Antebellum America was agricultural. Families lived off of what was made and grown on their farms and tried to trade for things that they themselves could not grow. Trading at this time had no monetary value; things were only worth what they could be traded for. Once the Erie Canal became a possibility people wanted it to be built so America could move towards a new way of living. At this time the thought was that if America wanted to grow and expand they would need to be able to export goods in order to make money so that they could expand Westward. There was no way to expand westward because there were no roads to travel or trade on. Supporters of the Canal realized that the only way to expand

People did not want the Canal to be built because they knew it would lead to a shift in society from agrarian lifestyle to a commercialized market lifestyle. Even though it faced a lot of negativity the leaders for the canal ultimately made the people realize that everyone would benefit from it. Once the Canal was finished in 1825 people immediately started to take advantage of it and use it for its benefits. The canal would allow them to ship goods more efficiently and for a fraction of the price. The canal also allowed for better communication. Before the completion of the canal mail took a long time to be delivered because there were no good routes. After the canal was built mail traveled much faster which made America seem smaller. The canal helped create new commercial lifestyle. Towns that the canal was being built in saw an economic boom because people started building their business near the canal because they knew that tourists would see it on when passing by on the canal. The canal made money on its own that helped pay the debt that it created by putting taxes on the goods that passed through it, and by 1837 the entire loan taken out for the canal was paid back. The completion of the canal showed the shift in American thought towards a more progressive

Before the canal was built, the federal government was relied on to make big decisions. At this time congress could not fund transportation projects unless there was an amendment to the constitution saying that they were allowed to. There was not enough money in the federal government’s budget to approve the building of the canal so; only states were allowed to take on transportation projects. Because the states had the power to control transportation projects they did something no one ever had, they began taking away the natural right of property, which was governed by God. The canal had to go through land that people owned, and the people that owned the land as that the government compensates them for the damage that the construction caused. The government denied compensation to most of the people that requested it. They did this because they knew that the landowners would benefit from the canal in the long run. The Erie Canal was like nothing that had ever been done before in America. Because it was a very foreign concept new laws and precedents needed to be made. Before construction on the canal only landowners could alter the land they owned. Once construction had begun, a new precedent was set, that said you can alter someone’s private property as long as they are paid back for the damages