Water Transportation in the Jacksonian Era, American


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Water Transportation in the Jacksonian Era

Water Transportation in the Jacksonian Era Water travel assisted heavily with transportation of goods and people from the American north-east to the west, which would eventually create a separation from the south. Before any canals were even built, there was a great demand for better transportation to and from the west. During this time of exploration, something was necessary in order for settlement to progress. After the canals were built, people living in to north grew exceedingly wealthy from the trading benefits of the canals. This wealth would eventually create economic differences with the southern United States(Drago 178). During the Jacksonian Era, in America, there were many changes happening, one of which was western expansion. During this time, Louis and Clark had already explored the west, but people were dying to be able to trade, and live there. With the grueling journey that would effect anyone trying to reach the west, came a new notion, of a canal that reached from Lake Erie on towards the east. This canal could transport people, as well as goods back and forth from the newly explored territory. Eventually this dream successfully became a reality. The chief builder of the Erie Canal was DeWitt Clinton, a powerful man who was to become the governor of New York. In 1816, Clinton petitioned New York legislature to let him build the canal, which was a success(Erie). The construction of the canal took about eight years, however many hardships such as floods, and malaria plagued construction. Many people also said that the canal was too short, as it originally only stretched from the Hudson to Lake Champlain. People wanted a canal that would take them all the way from Erie to Champlain. Although this created even more problems, the canal was completed successfully in 1825(Bourne 118). While all of this was going on, the ideas for another major canal were just coming together. The Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal, was just beginning near the time the Erie’s construction finished up. The C&O canal would mostly be used to transport coal to Cumberland, Maryland. The building of the canal ended on June 11, 1850, at Cumberland. Although not the economic giant that the Erie was, the C&O canal reached it’s peak in 1870, during which tolls often topped $1,000(Drago 71). After the construction of the canals was finished, there was a great enrichment of the north eastern United States, especially New York. Before this time, New York City was not that important of a city in the America, however, the canals increased New York’s trade economy, and made them the largest trading port on the coast. In fact there was such a profit from the Erie Canal in NYC that tolls were repealed during 1883(Erie). The canal cut traveling rates from Buffalo, New York, and New York City by more than 90%. This changed the entire economic make-up of the U.S., as well as gave exploration and travel a helping hand. Secondly, the C&O canal had many different developments in the period following it’s completion. However these developments were not nearly as good. The contractors, and engineers proved that they could not correctly build the canal, as they did not finish in the predicted time(Bourne).The C&O canal was not a financial success, and there were no economically enriched areas as there were with the Erie Canal. By the late 1870s, the canal had passed it’s peak of prosperity, and by 1881, it could not be stopped(Drago 71). However, the social effects were in some cases larger than the economic effects. Culture in the C&O are was heavily enriched by boatmen and other workers on the canal route. These boatmen could tell people many things about what was going on in other parts of the state, assisting with communication of these people. However there was a downside to these effects, as many minorities were badly hurt by the construction. The Iroquois Indian Tribe was nearly destroyed by the Erie canal, and many German and Irish immigrants were killed by malaria and accidents while working on the C&O Canal. In addition, the lock men and toll takers of the Erie become extremely isolated, and often suicidal people, which was definitely not a benefit of the canals(Bourne 210). After all of the initial developments of the canal, many even bigger effects began to occur. All of these effects, though, combined into a separation of the north and south, which then combined into the Civil War. First of all, the economic boom that so much helped the northern states ignored all of the southern states. This stopped the south from being able to trade as much with the North as they had previously done. Secondly, the North had become a heavy trading area. Which was very different from the still agricultural ways of the south. This was because many northerners had abandoned their farms to work on the canals. This eventually destroyed most of the northern farms, again separating the two regions of the U.S. from trading with each other. While all of this was going on, the south had lost there dominance of trade. Around the middle of the canal age, New Orleans lost it’s rank of the busiest forwarder of products from the interior. This rank had been switched to Buffalo, New York, ending the greatness of the city of New Orleans(Bourne 132). These examples of separation contributed to the already depleting relationship between the north and south. The most important example is most likely the reduced amount of farms in the north. This is because slavery in the south, as it is well known, resulted from lack of labor in farms. Therefore, if there were not as many farms in the North, there was less of a need for slaves. This created biased points of view on slavery, the north, not needing them, did not think slavery was right. The south, on the other hand, owned many slaves, so they thought slavery was justified. In conclusion, water travel benefited many northerners, but did not help those living in the south. Eventually, this difference resulted in the south become less economically strong, ending a long trade relationship with the north, which would soon evolve into the War Between the States, or the Civil War. Bibliography: Bibliography Bourne, Russell. Floating West. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1992 Bourne, Russell. Floating West. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1992. page 76. Bourne, Russell. Floating West. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1992. page 83. Drago, Harry Sinclair. Canal Days in America: The History and Romance of Old Towpaths and Waterways. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1972. Drago, Harry Sinclair. Canal Days in America: The History and Romance of Old Towpaths and Waterways. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1972. page 48. Drago, Harry Sinclair. Canal Days in America: The History and Romance of Old Towpaths and Waterways. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1972. page 166. “Erie Canal.” Electric Library. 9 Jan. Hadfield, Charles. The Canal Age. New York: Frederick A. Praeger Publishers, 1968.

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