The Erie Canal. Construction and contributions

Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Art - Architecture / History of Construction, grade: A, The University of Chicago, language: English, abstract: At the beginning of 19th century (1800s) Jesse Hawley a miller who was imprisoned in Geneva town, in New York envisaged the notion of building a canal connecting the west and the east regions of New York, this canal was to start from lake erie going and touching Hudson river. From 1807 to 1808 Hawley wrote 14 essays enumerating the benefits of the canal to the state. However, when president heard about the idea he termed the idea as "a little short of madness". However, this idea was appealing to DeWitt Clinton who was then mayor of New York, and he completely supported the idea. During that era, transportation of people and goods was very difficult as there wasnt any simple to transport them. Land transport was very laborious and costly. New York was merely covered with wilderness, mountains, waterfalls, swamps and great inland lake. This research paper will clearly review the Erie Canal on the basis of three fundamental issues, its construction, Clinton DeWitt contributions, and the general outcomes of its construction. After the review a brief conclusion will be provided to sum up the paper.