Westward Expansion Research Paper

This canal went between Buffalo and Albany and it linked New York City to the Great

While John Quincy Adams was in office, the 363 mile - long Erie Canal is completed from Lake Erie to New York City, linking the Atlantic and trans-Atlantic markets with the growing agricultural production in the Northwest states. They began the construction of the Erie Canal in 1817. Adams had strongly supported the national planning of and the use of national funds for an improved transportation foundation. In 1826, Military Training Manuals were created. Also, while Adams was in office he attempted to find something to provide Native Americans with territory in the West, but this failed to find support in Congress.

"Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven 't planted" stated by David Bly. The Erie Canal was started in 1817 and finished in 1825. It is 363 miles long and ran from Rome to Buffalo in New York. How did the Erie Canal change the United States? The Erie Canal changed the United States through increasing the economy, transportation/trade, and this all led to women 's rights.

The Erie Canal was important to New York City’s trade for many reasons. First, the Erie Canal created a transportation system that allowed goods to easily flow between the Great lakes and New York City. Second the creation of the canal attracted an influx of farmers who were migrating from New England. This influx of farmers led to the creation of cities like Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse along the canal. The Most important effect of the Erie Canal on New York City’s trade was its effect on trade on a larger scale.

The construction began in 1817 and ended in 1825 but it wasn't easy. Workers only used shovels, hoes and their hands to build the canal. The construction involved thousands and thousands of workers including local farmers, foreign immigrants, and New England migrants. It was very tough to work. Working conditions were at best boring and dull and at worst death like.

Also, the Canal led to New York having the busiest port in America (Doc. 1B). The New York State Canal Corporation states that “Within 15 years of its opening, New York was the busiest port in America, moving tonnages greater than Boston, Baltimore, and New Orleans combined”

The first largest transportation route that opened new economic possibilities in the North was the Erie Canal. This new network of transportation completely opened the economy from local and regional markets to

As was stated in the previous paragraph, on boat you could carry 1 ton and you would only have to pay $6. Another great advantage about the Erie canal was that the Erie canal was the faster way. In chart one it showed how the dirt road took 15-45 days to travel the Erie Canal. On the other hand, it only took 9 days to travel the Erie canal by boat. It became easy to start your business because since the Erie canal was so cheap, you could travel far and not have to pay that much.

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.

The Westward Expansion all started when America made the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. There were many benefits from the purchase for the US that the French didn’t realize before they sold it. The purchase gave the US access to the Mississippi river which allowed for expansion of river trade to the North and South from the center of the US. The port city of New Orleans was bought by the US and its prosperity benefited the US greatly. The US sent Lewis and Clark west to investigate the land they purchased.

For many years people had to use other waterways that would take longer to get around to get to places. In the 16th century, people had came up with the idea of building a waterway that would allow easier access. They came up with the idea of the Panama Canal, that would allow us to get from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. At the time, President Ulysses S. Grant, sent an army of people to look for a possible building spot for the canal. The canal was very important.

The Documents say, “Prior to the construction of the Canal, New York City was the nation’s fifth largest seaport, behind Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New Orleans.” So, before the building of the Canal the port wasn’t very popular. After the building, New York City was the busiest port in America after 15 years of the opening of the Canal (Doc. 1b). Comparing to the

The building of canals such as the erie canal helped speed up trade by connecting lakes and ocean helping to lower

As American factories and farms started to produce more goods businessmen and legislators began to create a faster and cheaper way to get goods distributed to consumers. Around 1820, Americans began to build canals and steamboats, railroad, and extend roads linking the Atlantic Coast with new states in the Trans Appalachian west. Canals and Steamboats shrunk the distance of carrying goods from one place to another and could haul the most cargo for transportation. A well-known waterway called the Erie Canal connected the Great Lakes region to the Atlantic Ocean and cost 7 million dollars.

Before the Erie canal was built, the toll cost on a dirt road would be $100 per ton. Then the tool on the Erie canal was only $6 per ton (chart 1). It might seem like they would not make any money, but with how many people traveled on the canal they made thousands the time difference between traveling on the road and traveling on the canal was huge. On the road it was 15 to 45 days of travel, but on the canal travel time was only 9 days. That is a 36 day difference.