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photo credits COVER: (bkgd) The Granger Collection,
New York. 1: (t) The Granger Collection, New York
2-3: (b) David Jennings/The Image Works 3: (c) Oscar
White/CORBIS 4: (b) James Randklev/CORBIS 6-7: (b)
New York Historical Society/Bridgemon Art Library. 8:
(tr) Bettmann/CORBIS. 9: (c) The Granger Collection,
New York. 10: (b) Mary Evans Picture Library 12: (b)
North Wind/North Wind Picture Archives 13: (tl)
North Wind/North Wind Picture Archives 14: (t)
North Wind/North Wind Picture Archives IS: ( be)
The Granger Collection, New York 18: (b) Owaki·
Kulla/CORBIS 19: (tc) Courtesy of Allen Kidder 21: (t)
artifacts, dedicated, equality,
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important canal?
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Strategy: Summarize
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Erie Canal such a
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STRATEGIES & SKILLS AT A GLANCE
Vocabulary Strategy
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Word Parts: Inflectional Endings
CONTENT-AREA VOCABULARY
Words related to the Erie Canal
(see glossary)
CONTENT STANDARDS
Social Studies
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History
Lee Snider/Photo Images/CORBIS
Word count: 1,666**
B
Tile McGraw·Hill Compantes
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Macmillan
McGraw-Hill
Published by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, of McGraw-Hill Education, a division of
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Copyright© by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No port of this publication
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Printed in the United States of America
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 026 10 09 08 07 06
**The total word count is based on words in the running text and headings only.
Numerals and words in captions, labels, diagrams, charts, and sidebars are not included.
The
Erie Canal
Low Bridge, Everybody Down!
by Louise Orlando
Table of Contents
Introduction
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Chapter 1
Clinton,s Ditch
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Chapter2
Low Bridge, Everybody Down!
Chapter 3
A Great Success
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Chapter4
The Erie Canal Today
Conclusion
Glossary
Index
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Comprehension Check
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2
4
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12
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24
Introduction
The Erie Canal may be one of America's most
important canals. It brought settlers to the rich farmland
of Indiana, Illinois, and territories farther west. The canal
also helped the East to grow. Before the canal was built,
settlers had to transport everything along rough roads
by wagon. The dirt roads were mud in spring, dust in
summer, and ice in winter. Traveling was very slow and
sometimes dangerous. Fresh food could not be shipped
along them because it would rot before it arrived. Shipping
farm tools or replacement parts for plows took a long time
and was expensive. People had to plan far in advance to get
the things they needed.
0 Low bridge, everybody down! To save money,
bridges over the canal were built very low.
Something had to change. One man had the vision to
find a solution. His name was De Witt Clinton. Thanks
to Clinton, the Erie Canal was built. At 364 miles long,
the Erie Canal was the longest uninterrupted canal in the
world. It changed the way people lived and worked. The
Erie Canal was like a superhighway.
Today, the canal is still in use. Parts of the canal
have been preserved and repaired because it is such an
important part of our history. Visitors come to experience
the waterways, low bridges, and towns along its path. And
just as people called out more than 175 years ago, you still
have to heed the cry, "Low bridge, everybody down!"
De Witt Clinton was mayor �
of New York City, a U.S.
senator, and the governor
of New York.
Chapter I
Clinton's Ditch
In the 1700s and 1800s, settlers were moving across
New York State to what was then the western United
States, around Ohio and beyond. These settlers had
problems buying and selling goods. Farmers could not get
their crops to the big eastern markets before they rotted.
Factories in the East could not ship manufactured goods
westward in a timely or inexpensive way. It was a huge
dilemma, with everybody losing money as a result.
United States, 1800
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The biggest roadblock was the Appalachian Mountains.
At the time it was either impossible or extremely difficult
to cross the range. But the mountains weren't the only
problem. The roads in general were awful. Rough and
rutted, they could quickly destroy a wagon wheel. Rain
often turned the roads into muddy tracks.
Trying to ship anything along the waterways was
impossible. Going downriver was easy until you reached
swiftly moving, shallow rapids. The rapids left sailors
with no choice but to take their boats out of the water.
And, of course, they also had to unload all of their cargo.
Then they had to carry the boat and the cargo around the
rapids. Imagine hauling a plow or pulling a cow out of a
boat and moving it around trees and rocks.
<: Shallow rivers and steep mountains made it
hard to ship goods from west to east.
5
A Big Idea
For years Americans had mar veled at the amazing
canal systems that many countries in Europe had.
The governor of New York \vas a man named De Witt
Clinton. He thought America needed a canal. He
proposed that a canal be built from Buffalo, New York,
to Albany, New York. It would connect Lake Erie to the
Hudson River. At Albany, the canal would meet the
Hudson River. Boats could then travel down the Hudson
to New York City. Imagine that! At the time, the longest
existing American canal was only 27 miles long. The Erie
Canal was to be 364 miles long!
0 The
Erie Canal was b ui l t without any big machines.
Workers labored 10 to 12 hours a day.
Clinton was able to find the money to build the canal.
It would cost $7 million, a huge sum at the time. And
so work began on the Erie Canal. The first shovelful of
soil was dug at a site in Rome, New York, on July 4, 1817.
After about five years of digging with no end in sight,
people started to talk. They nicknamed the canal
"Clinton's Ditch."
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------
1
Built by Immigrants
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Many people helped build the Erie Canal. There was an
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equality among the workers. The Irish were perhaps
the largest immigrant group to work on the canal.
Many Irish immigrants heard about the work in America
and bought passage on the large ships traveling there.
Along with other immigrants from different countries,
they worked at chopping trees, clearing land, and
digging and setting stones.
Chapter 2
Low Bridge, Everybody Down!
People thought the canal would
never be finished. But after eight
years of work, the canal was ready
for boats. Clinton opened the canal
on October 26, 1825. He sailed on
it from Buffalo to Albany. Then
he continued on to New York City
via the Hudson River. When he
reached New York City, he dumped
a bucket of Lake Erie water into the
Atlantic Ocean. This little water
0 Clinton was on
ceremony and dedication was called
the first boat to
the "Marriage of the Waters." It was
travel on the Erie
Canal. It was the
a symbol for the opening of shipping
Seneca Chief.
between the middle of America and
the rest of the world.
Ships started traveling the waterway carrying cargo
and passengers. A trek that used to take seven weeks on
land now took less than 10 days! Suddenly fresh apples
and corn arrived in New York City. Wagon wheels
and axes were shipped west. Business all around was
booming. The canal was the wonder of the time.
This painting shows the Erie Canal in operation four years
after it opened . The canal was surrounded by farm country.
8
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How a Canal Works
Canals all over the world work the same way. They
are all human-made waterways that help people get to
where they want to go. Sometimes a series of locks and
aqueducts are needed.
Aqueducts are like bridges. An aqueduct carries the
water of a canal over a river or fast-moving rapids. Ships
use locks to pass from one body of water to another that
is at a different level. Water is pumped in or out of a lock
to raise or lower the ship.
0 This aqueduct carried the Erie Canal over a river in
Rochester, New York.
lO
---------------
How a Lock Works
Think of a lock as a large, watertight, topless box. Two ends of
the "box" have gates. As a ship comes from one direction up to
the lock, that end, or gate, opens. The ship sails in, and the gate
seals shut behind it. Then the water inside the lock is either raised
or lowered depending on the water level on the other side of the
second gate. When the water in the lock is at the right height, the
second gate opens, and the ship continues on its way.
Closed
The boat enters the lock.
Closed
Closed
The watertight gates close.
Open
Closed
The water level moves up or down to match the level of the
water on the other side of the lock.
The gate opens, and the boat moves on.
11
Chapter 3
A Great Success
When the Erie Canal was first dug, it was about
four feet deep and 40 feet wide. The bank of the canal
contained a 10-foot-wide towpath. The towpath is a
walkway where teams of horses, oxen, or mules towed
the boats moving down the canal. The boats were not
self-propelled.
By 1845 there were about 4,000 boats using the canal.
Keeping all the boats afloat took more than just good
captains and crews. The boats and canal were kept in
working order by close to 25,000 people. Thousands
of people on shore maintained the canal and provided
services for those on the boats.
0 The Erie Canal traveled between Lake Erie and the Hudson River.
There were 18 aqueducts and 83 locks along its 364 miles.
12
<: The Erie Canal
locks were only
15 feet wide.
Boats could be
no wider than
14 feet or they
would not fit in
the lock.
Lock tenders operated the locks. Toll collectors
took in money from the boats for using the canal. Bank
watchers kept close watch on the banks for leaks or cracks
that could destroy the canal. Shopkeepers and other
merchants bought and sold goods to the boat crews and
passengers. Hotels and stable owners put up boat crews,
passengers, and the animals that pulled the boats. As a
result of all this activity, the towns along the canal
grew rapidly.
,
-------------
1
It's a Fact
1
Schenectady, New York, is 218 feet higher than Albany,
New York. Two aqueducts and 27 locks helped boats
"stair-step" to the Hudson River.
13
0 This painting shows Erie Canal boats docked for the
winter at the East River docks in New York City.
A variety of boats floated up and down the Erie Canal.
Some of the most popular were the bullhead freighters,
line boats, and scows. These were all generally used for
moving cargo-anything from flour and grain to logs
and stone. Sometimes line boats took on passengers, too.
But passengers usually traveled on packet boats.
The passenger boats were often rather luxurious.
People could sleep in pull-down cots that hung from the
walls. They could eat and socialize as they floated slowly
from Buffalo to Albany and points in between.
14
,
--------------
Canal Speak
As the Erie Canal became well known, a special language
developed along it. Here are some examples of that
language, called canal speak:
Canawl (canawler): how Irish and Dutch immigrants
pronounced "canal." A canawler was someone who
worked on the canal.
Fog-gang: the name for the canal clean-up crew.
Hoggee: a man, sometimes a boy, who drove the horses,
mules, or oxen that pulled the boats along the towpath.
Hoodledasher: when two or more empty boats were tied
together and attached to a full boat that was then pulled
along a towpath.
Long-eared robin: a nickname for a mule.
Low bridge!: Duck! The cry heard before a boat went
under a low bridge.
Mudlarked: a grounded boat.
Runners and scalpers: boys and men hired to find
passengers and cargo for boats.
Shipshape macaroni: a sharply dressed boat captain.
15
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New York State Baroe Canal
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In 1903 the Erie Canal was enlarged and merged with
three other canals. The new canal was called the New
York State Barge Canal. Barges carrying loads of up to
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3,000 tons could navigate the waters as well as smaller,
lighter boats. After the enlargement, steam-powered
tugboats instead of animals pulled the barges.
Booming Cities and Towns
Before the canal was built, sending goods along the
rough roads between Buffalo and New York City took a
long time. It was also very costly. Shipping a ton of cargo
between these two cities cost between $90 and $125. By
1835, after the canal was completed, the cost dropped to
about $4 per ton.
Farmers in the western states of Ohio, Illinois,
and Indiana sent their crops to the East. In return
they received factory-made goods, such as farm tools,
clothing, and household equipment. Soon it seemed that
everything-goods and people-passed through New
York. The New York City seaport became the busiest in
the country.
16
New York state's major cities all lie along the canal's
original route. The opening of the canal caused these
cities to boom. However, in the late 1800s, new forms
of transportation started to replace the canal. It became
faster to ship goods and travel by railroad. Some cities
along the canal began to decline. They had depended on
the canal and the ships for business. Many people lost
their jobs. People began to move away.
,
Population Growth
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City of Syracuse
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250,000
Q)
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a.
o
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
500
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1825
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Year
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0 This bar graph shows how the population of Syracuse
changed as use of the Erie Canal first grew and then
declined.
17
Chapter 4
The Erie Canal Today
In 2000 the Erie Canal celebrated its 1751h anniversary.
Today the canal is part of the New York State Canal
System. Visitors can explore canal museums, their
exhibits, and early boater artifacts in many of the major
towns along the canal route. In some places the once busy
towpaths are now pleasant bike and walking trails.
The best way to experience the canal is by boat. Boats
up to 300 feet long and 40 feet wide are welcome. Since
the low bridges are still around, boat height should be no
more than 15 to 20 feet, depending on what part of the
canal you explore.
0 Tugboat
Urger shows people what life was like
when the canal was at its peak.
A Tugboat on the Canal
It's also possible to travel the Erie Canal on the tugboat
Urger. The Urger was built in 1901 in Michigan. For the
first 20 years of her life, she was a fishing boat. Then she
was sold and began work as a cargo boat on the Erie Canal.
She continued working for about 60 years before being
retired in the 1980s.
In 1991 Urger was taken out of retirement. She had a
new job as a tour boat. She now hauls passengers up and
down parts of the canaL
<: Today many visitors enjoy a cruise along the Erie Canal.
19
Conclusion
Many people have called the Erie Canal the
most amazing canal in the world. It was built because
De Witt Clinton thought a canal would help solve serious
transportation problems. And he was right. The canal
changed the way our country developed. It carried settlers
west to new land. It turned New York City into the most
successful seaport in the country. It created thousands of
jobs. And it increased populations in cities along its path.
The Erie Canal is no longer used the way it was in the
1800s. But we still recognize the important role it played
in our nation's history. The best way to learn about the
canal is to float quietly along it. Then you can get a taste
of what life was like 175 years ago. But remember, low
bridge, everybody down!
Erie Canall817-1959
---- .
1817
1825
Work begins
The canal is
Decision to
on the Erie
completed.
enlarge the
1835
canal to 70 feet
Canal.
wide and seven
feet deep.
20
Canal opens
Syracuse,
Canal enlargement
between Rome
Rochester,
is completed.
and Utica,
and Buffalo
New York.
grow quickly.
1918
New York State
Barge Canal is
completed at a
cost of $155 million.
1920s
1959
Some parts of
St. Lawrence Seaway
the old Erie Canal
opens. Boat traffic
are filled in.
moves from the canals
to the seaway.
21
Glossary
aqueduct (AK-wi-dukt) a structure like a bridge that carries water
over a difficult area (page 70)
barge (BAHRJ) a boat with a flat bottom, used to carry freight on
canals and rivers (page 76)
booming (BEWM-ing) growing suddenly and rapidly (page 8)
canal (kuh-NAL) a waterway dug across land for boats to travel
through (page 2)
immigrant (IM-i-gruhnt) a person who comes to live in a country in
which he or she was not born (page 7)
lock (LOK) a part of a canal through which water can be pumped in
or out to raise or lower ships (page 70)
manufactured goods (ma n -yuh-FAK-chuhrd goodz) objects made
with the use of machinery, like plows, fabric, or tools (page 4)
toll (TOHL) a tax or fee paid for the right to do or use something
(page 73)
towpath (TOH-path) area next to a canal for people or animals to
walk on; originally used by animals for pulling boats (page 72)
trek (TREK) long journey (page 8)
tugboat (TUG-boht) a small, powerful boat used to push or pull
barges and other boats (page 76)
22
Index
Albany, 6, 8, 73
Appalachian Mts., 5
aqueduct, 70, 72, 73
Buffalo, 6, 8, 76
Clinton, De Witt, 3, 6, 7, 8, 20
Erie Canal
building of, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8
canal speak, 75
cost, 7, 76
today, 78-27
visitors, 3, 78-20
workers, 6, 72-73
Hudson River, 6, 8, 72, 73
immigrants, 7
lock, 70-73
New York City, 6, 8, 76, 20
New York State Barge Canal, 76, 27
population, 77
roads, 2, 5, 76
Seneca Chief, 8
Syracuse, 77, 20
towpath, 72
Urger, 79
waterways, 3, 5, 70
23
Comprehension Check
Summarize
Look back through the text. How did the Erie Canal help our
country grow? What happened when the canal was used less?
Think and Compare
1. Why was the Erie Canal important? How did it help
farmers in the Midwest and merchants in New York City?
(Identify Main Idea and Details)
2. Would you have liked working on or around the canal?
What type of job would you have chosen? Explain.
(Evaluate)
3. The Erie Canal is part of the New York State Canal
System. Although it is not a national monument, it is well
preserved. Do you think using state tax money to care for
the canal is a good decision? Explain.
24
(Analyze/Evaluate)
Write About Your Canal Trip
Pretend that the year is 1830. You live in Buffalo,
New York. Your parents decide that the family will
take a trip down the Erie Canal. Write about your
experience traveling on a packet boat.
Write a Report
In the 1800s transportation in the United States
improved dramatically. Better roads, canals,
steamboats, and railroads changed the way Americans
lived. Research one of these means of transportation
and write a brief report about it. Include how it
changed people's lives.
The Erie Canal
In the late 1700s, the United States was growing.
People were moving west. But it was hard to
travel from place to place in the days before
trains and cars. One man had a big idea. He
wanted to build a canal across New York State.
It would be called the Erie Canal.
5.2 Week 3
n1e McGraw·Hi/1 Compomes
ISBN 0 · 02 ·19323S · 7
'1'1701
� Macmillan
lit9l McGraw-Hill
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