Canals played an important role in American History. These man-made waterways helped people travel long distances more quickly, and efficiently. The construction of canals in America was being considered to improve inland transportation in North America which was limited to trails and coastal navigation at the time.This idea borrowed from England was best put into action when the 363 mile long Erie Canal was built. The canal took 8 years and $7 million dollars to build and was made to connect American waterways with the Atlantic Ocean. At the time, this marvelous creation was called “The Eighth Wonder of the World” by some.
Canal barges were flat-bottomed boats that were usually for the transport of heavy goods on canals. While horses could only carry an ⅛ of a ton of cargo, canal barges could carry up to 50 tons. Canal barges were also very efficient; one barge with 50 tons could transport the cargo in about 1 hour, while transporting the same cargo on the road with a horse could take up to 25 hours.…show more content… The Erie Canal was built between 1817 and 1825 to link Lake Erie to the Hudson River and New York City. The Erie Canal provided an easy way for farms in upstate New York to transport their products to the market, It also helped carry the farm products of the American and Canadian West from the Great Lakes to the port of New York and area farms and industries were able to benefit from the traffic of the canal. On return trips, the canals also brought consumer goods to growing communities in New York. The Erie Canal’s construction also garnered a lot of attention in the 1820s; in 1821, the Erie Canal’s labor force numbered a staggering 9,000 men. Due to the canal’s construction, local residents and new immigrants were able to find work on the
