The Erie Canal: Opening the Gateway to America
Completed in 1821, the Erie Canal took 10 years to build. It cut transportation costs from carts pulled by draft animals by 95% and gave New York City an incomparable advantage over all other port cities. Ralph Andrist;s, The Erie Canal, gives an in depth look at the politics, financing and construction details of this remarkable engineering feat and describes how it affected the economic life of 19th century America.
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The Erie Canal, by Ralph Andrist
There was nothing quite like it. And they said it couldn't be done, but the Erie canal took 10 years to build and transformed the Central United States in ways unimaginable to everyday Americans, From the Great Lakes to the Hudson River and Atlantic ocean, it opened America to commerce.