How Did The Erie Canal Affect America

608 Words2 Pages

The greatest impacts that the Erie Canal had on America were a great increase in population, trade becoming a lot more common, but most importantly, much safer and easier travel.
An important impact of the creation of the Erie Canal was a major trade boost along the canal. In a letter from Peter L. Burnstein to Jesse Hawley, he says "The trade of almost all the lakes in North America, the most of which flowing through the canal, would center at New York for their common mart. This port, already of the first commercial consequence in the United States, would shortly after, be left without a competition in trade, except that of New Orleans." This means that the lakes of North America all flow to the Erie Canal, and center at New York, making it the main spot for trade, along with the canal itself. Another reason trade is a big impact on America is that in chart 4, it shows bushels of wheat transported on the Erie Canal. As time goes by, more and more bushels of wheat are transported on the canal, meaning that as the canal was being built and then finished, it increased with popularity and eventually became a main place to transport huge amounts of wheat. Another chart (2) shows the expenditures and revenues of the state of Ohio from 1827 to 1903. Through the first …show more content…

This means that the canal was earning more money than it needed to run at the first couple of decades, but when people stopped using

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