How Did The Erie Canal Affect The United States

The Erie canal

Many events and constructions impacted the United States through history, but very few more than the Erie canal. The Erie canal was constructed for various reasons. One being for a better route for transportation. It's proposal was in 1808, and was finished in 1825. It was a huge man made waterway that connected the Great Lakes, and the Atlantic ocean. It gave Americans an easy route to the ocean, without having to cross thousands of miles on land. It was then first American, man made wonder. It was a huge impact on the U.S. It impacted the U.S in many ways: made money, created trade, and increased population in the northern states.

First of all, the Erie canal made a lot of money for the U.S. It made 121 million dollars by 1882. That is a lot of money, even today. Merchants would travel up and down the canal and trade with people. They would stop in towns and stay for a few days and then move to the next. "Chart 4" gives a

"Chart 2" shows the expenditures and revenue of the State of Ohio from 1827 to 1903. There is a huge Revenue line from about 1840 to about 1855. That's over ten years of $250,000 to 450,000 a year. A lot of traders were on and along this canal, and making lots of money. Not only did people from America trade their, people from other countries traded their as well. People from all over the world traveled across the ocean to trade along the Erie canal. Some didn't even come just to trade along the canal. They simply came because they wanted to trade with Americans, but they still took the canal. Being the canal connected the great lakes and the Atlantic, it made it much easier to get to some places in America. Michigan soon became a hot spot for trade. Trade was very important to both to countries economy, and the people who lived their, but there is one last pivotal effect of the Erie canal that was even more important than these