ERIE CANAL
ERIE CANAL
- Dewitt
Clinton
connects
New York
City to
Lake Erie
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-Locks – separated compartments
raise (lower) water levels
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Mules pulled barges astonishingly fast since steamboats were too
big and would damage the earthen embankments with their
engines. 2 horses could pull up to 24 miles in a day, much faster
than a wagon. Later, in the 1840’s the canals were reinforced to
handle tugboats with bigger shipments.
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ERIE CANAL
Importance!!!!
1)Improved
Trade
- Goods move
faster (water
vs. roads) =
cheaper
- Connects
ports
- Carry more
goods
It reduced the cost of moving a ton
of flour from Buffalo to New York
from $120 to $6.
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2) Creates new big
cities in new places!
-Cities like Schenectady and Syracuse grow along new trade routes
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3) Unites the Country!! (West to East)
- People move faster!
- News moves faster !
IMAGINE THE IMPACT THAT THE
NEW BULLET TRAINS WOULD HAVE…
They currently go 220 mph which means
you could live in Columbus, and Cleveland
and Cincinnati would only be a half hour away!
Some go even faster! This will give you an idea of how
Canals and roads changed America in the early 1800’s!
World speed record
holding (581 km/h) JRMaglev in Yamanashi,
Japan. That is
approximately 360
miles per hour!