How The Erie Canal Transformed America - IT'S HISTORY
Summary
TLDRThe Erie Canal, a 363-mile waterway through New York wilderness, was a monumental 19th-century engineering feat that transformed transportation and commerce. Initially deemed too ambitious by the federal government, it was New York State that took up the challenge. Overcoming numerous obstacles, including financial troubles and labor shortages, the canal was built through sheer determination and manual labor, primarily by Irish immigrants. It connected the Great Lakes to New York City, solidifying New York's status as a commercial hub and symbolizing American ingenuity and expansion.
Takeaways
- 🚣 The Erie Canal was a 363-mile waterway through New York wilderness, considered an engineering marvel of the 19th century.
- 🏗️ Initially deemed too ambitious by the federal government, the construction of the canal was accomplished by the state of New York through sheer manpower.
- 👨💼 Jess Holly, a grain merchant, is noted for his advocacy for improved infrastructure, which he saw as essential for economic growth and development.
- 📜 Holly's correspondence with President Thomas Jefferson was one of the first calls for government intervention to assist the people at the expense of the wealthy elite.
- 💡 The idea for the canal was met with skepticism, with President Jefferson dismissing it as 'little short of madness'.
- 👷♂️ The construction involved thousands of workers, including a significant number of Irish immigrants who played a crucial role in the challenging and dangerous work.
- 🌿 The canal's route was carefully planned to avoid significant natural obstacles, but it still faced challenges like the Montezuma swamps and the Niagara Escarpment.
- 💥 The use of black powder and innovative engineering solutions, such as the staircase of locks at Lockport, were essential in overcoming the physical barriers of the canal's path.
- 🚢 The Erie Canal was a catalyst for the growth of cities like New York, Chicago, and Detroit, solidifying New York City as the United States' commercial capital.
- 🏫 The canal project led to the establishment of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the nation's first civil engineering institute, and the 'Erie School of Engineering'.
- 🌉 The Erie Canal remains in use today, serving as a testament to the vision and capability of those who built it and the impact it had on American expansion and industry.
Q & A
What was the Erie Canal considered to be in the 19th century?
-The Erie Canal was considered the definitive engineering marvel of the 19th century.
How long was the Erie Canal?
-The Erie Canal was a 363-mile waterway.
Who was the man from New York who faced financial troubles due to transport difficulties?
-Jess Holly was the man who faced financial troubles due to the difficulty of transport.
What was the main problem with the early American infrastructure?
-The main problem with early American infrastructure was its primitive nature, with no motorways or cross-country paths, and existing roads turning into mud after slight rainfall.
What was the term 'highway robbery' originally referring to?
-The term 'highway robbery' originally referred to bandits on highways that stopped carriages and stole money from them.
What was the Louisiana Purchase and how did it impact the United States?
-The Louisiana Purchase was when Napoleon Bonaparte sold France's holdings known as French Louisiana to the United States for 15 million dollars, effectively doubling the size of the country.
Why did Jess Holly write to President Thomas Jefferson?
-Jess Holly wrote to President Thomas Jefferson to complain about people overcharging for land out west and proposing a plan to use excess federal funds to mark out towns as ports and assist in their development.
What was the main reason for Jess Holly's imprisonment in debtor's prison?
-Jess Holly was imprisoned in debtor's prison because he could not pay back the loans he took to establish his business due to transport inefficiency.
Who was Senator DeWitt Clinton and what was his role in the Erie Canal?
-Senator DeWitt Clinton was a prominent New York political figure who advocated for the construction of the Erie Canal. He served as a state senator, U.S. senator, and mayor of New York City, and was instrumental in pushing the canal project forward.
What was the reaction of President Thomas Jefferson to the proposal of the Erie Canal?
-President Thomas Jefferson was utterly appalled by the proposal of the Erie Canal, calling it 'little short of madness' due to the scale and manpower required for the project.
How did the Erie Canal construction overcome the challenge of the Niagara Escarpment?
-The Erie Canal construction overcame the challenge of the Niagara Escarpment by using a series of five locks, known as a staircase of boats, to scale up the 70-foot tall cliff blocking the path to Lake Erie.
What was the impact of the Erie Canal on New York City?
-The Erie Canal solidified New York City as the United States' commercial capital, making it the gateway to the west for trade and transport, and allowing boats to sail from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean in 10 days.
Outlines
🚣♂️ The Erie Canal: A 19th Century Engineering Marvel
The Erie Canal is recognized as a significant engineering achievement of the 19th century, stretching 363 miles through New York's wilderness to serve as a vital transportation route. Initially deemed too ambitious by the federal government, the state of New York took on the project relying on manual labor. The video introduces the story with a focus on Jess Holly, a man who faced financial struggles due to poor infrastructure and transportation. His experiences and advocacy for improved infrastructure led to the conception of the Erie Canal.
📜 The Advocacy and Proposal of the Erie Canal
After serving time in debtor's prison, Jess Holly emerged with a clear vision of the need for improved infrastructure, particularly advocating for a canal from Buffalo to Albany. His writings gained traction, and support for waterways grew. Senator DeWitt Clinton, a influential figure in New York politics, took up the cause, proposing a massive canal project that was initially met with skepticism, including rejection by President Thomas Jefferson. Despite this, Clinton persisted, and after the War of 1812, he successfully lobbied for the canal's construction, turning it into a state-funded endeavor.
🏗️ Overcoming Challenges in Canal Construction
The construction of the Erie Canal was a monumental task facing numerous challenges, including the lack of federal support and the need for innovative engineering solutions. The project relied on local designers and self-taught engineers, who overcame obstacles such as finding suitable cement for construction and devising methods to clear land and manage water levels. The workforce, which included a significant number of Irish immigrants, faced harsh working conditions, diseases, and societal prejudices, yet they persevered to make the canal a reality.
🌉 The Final Hurdle and Triumph of the Erie Canal
The final and most daunting challenge in constructing the Erie Canal was the Niagara Escarpment, a massive cliff that stood in the way of connecting to Lake Erie. An innovative solution involving a staircase of five locks was devised to overcome this obstacle. The water source for these locks was Lake Erie itself, requiring the Irish workers to blast a seven-mile path through solid bedrock. Despite further societal unrest and a deadly riot, the canal was completed, and it quickly became a vital trade route, solidifying New York City's status as a commercial hub.
🌟 Legacy of the Erie Canal
The Erie Canal stands as a testament to American ingenuity and perseverance, having been completed against all odds. It not only became a significant trade route but also led to the establishment of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the nation's first civil engineering school. The canal continues to be used for both commercial shipping and tourism, reflecting its enduring impact on American industry and its role in the country's westward expansion.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Erie Canal
💡Engineering Marvel
💡Infrastructure
💡DeWitt Clinton
💡Irish Immigrants
💡Canal Locks
💡Hydraulic Cement
💡Niagara Escarpment
💡Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
💡Erie School of Engineering
💡Black Powder
Highlights
The Erie Canal was considered the definitive engineering marvel of the 19th century.
It was a 363-mile waterway through the New York wilderness.
The canal was crucial for transporting goods and people, serving over 50,000 people.
The federal government initially deemed the canal idea too ambitious.
New York State took on the task of constructing the canal through sheer manpower.
Jess Hawley, born in 1773, faced transport difficulties that led to financial troubles.
Early American infrastructure was primitive, with roads turning to mud after rainfall.
Chicago suffered greatly from muddy roads, eventually raising the city several feet.
Highway robbery was a common problem on early American roads.
The Louisiana Purchase ignited a fever for exploration and westward expansion.
Hawley proposed a plan to use federal funds to develop towns and ports to prevent land grabs.
Hawley spent over a year in debtor's prison, which led to his advocacy for better infrastructure.
Senator DeWitt Clinton was a key advocate for the canal, despite initial rejections.
The War of 1812 provided a political climate conducive to Clinton's canal plans.
The Erie Canal was the first major industrial undertaking of the United States.
The canal solidified New York City as the United States' commercial capital.
The Erie Canal reduced the travel time from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean to 10 days.
The Erie Canal is still in use today, with larger boats and tourist boats traversing its waters.
The Erie Canal became a symbol of American ingenuity and the power of vision.
Transcripts
by many accounts the erie canal is considered
the definitive engineering marvel of the 19th century being a 363 mile waterway
through the new york wilderness it was a crucial transport artery for over 50
000 people yet when it was first proposed the federal government deemed the idea too ambitious
hence the task would fall to the state which went on to accomplish construction by sheer manpower
this is the story of the erie canal i'm your host ryan socas and you're watching it's history
our story begins in the 1800s new york with a man named jess holly born on may the 11th
1773 in geneva connecticut he was a child when the colonies rebelled against the british
growing up with the republic and by the time he was 30 he moved to western new york state
here he made his living by buying grain from the eastern part of the state processing it through a
local mill before sending it back east for profits this scheme never really brought him much profit
as he always had financial troubles the lack of income was mainly due to the difficulty of
transport and he wasn't the only one suffering from that problem at the time it was a challenge
that new york and the country as a whole was facing at the time infrastructure early american
infrastructure was primitive there was no such thing as motorways or even cross-country paths
waterways were the best transport available and they left much to be desired the roads that did
exist were dirt and would turn into mud after even the slightest rainfall as discussed in a
previous video chicago in particular suffered greatly from muddy roads to the point that
they raised the entire city several feet however chicago's solution to these problems were still
50 years away from this moment in history the roads weren't just a problem in the rain either
in summers travelers had a completely rock hard path ahead of them as the sun essentially forged
it into a single solid mass when horses carriage wheels or even someone at a brisk pace walked
these roads it kicked up dirt into the air making any traffic sure to choke on dust and that's not
even mentioning the risks from sources other than the roads themselves one example is the expression
highway robbery today it describes when someone feels as if they paid too much for a good or a
service implying that they were robbed the term originates from bandits on highways that stopped
carriages and stole exorbitant amounts of money from them as there weren't any police patrols
out to stop them highwaymen as they were known in europe were common sights on early american roads
also known as road agents they would terrorize america long into the times of the old
west until the u.s government established enough of a presence in these lands to combat them fully
with police forces the roads in america were an absolute mess and jess haley knew it however his
eyes were elsewhere at the time you see the early 1800s were an exciting time for many americans
as a new flame ignited their fever for exploration once again that flame was the louisiana purchase
when napoleon bonaparte sold the entirety of france's holdings known as french louisiana to
the united states with the signing of a paper and exchange of 15 million dollars the united states
doubled in size calling this purchase a steal would quite literally be the underestimation of
the century the united states had gotten away with such a good deal that they could quite
literally afford to give away land however the people of the states weren't quite so generous
in 1803 holly learned of people overcharging for land out west which angered him to the point that
he complained to the authorities he figured that rather than fussing about with the lower parts
of government he'd take the issue to a head so he wrote to the then president thomas jefferson
complaining about these quote unquote capitalists slowing development on the frontier he also had
a solution to the issues proposing a plan to use excess federal funds to mark out towns as
ports and assist in their development claiming that the actions would prevent these land grabs
that allowed his hated capitalists to continue their schemes of highway robbery in the modern
sense this plan would assist in the growth of what holly called the american empire jefferson likely
didn't pay this message much mind considering it was railing against capitalists and calling for
the government to seize the means of production of cities however this message does carry historical
significance as it was one of the first calls for the government to step in and assist the people
at the expense of the wealthy elite three years after this letter the debts incurred
by the transport inefficiency caught up to him and holly could not pay back the loans he took
to establish his business these loans eventually landed him in debtors prison a prison for people
who couldn't afford to pay their debts for context in debtor's prison one could work off their debts
and the price of their incarceration through prison labor holly spent over a year and a half
in debtor's prison mulling over the circumstances that led to his imprisonment he eventually came to
a single conclusion one culprit that was the source of all his woes infrastructure and as
he did when he raged against the capitalists with their land grabs he began to write taking the pen
name hercules he advocated for jefferson's plan to work on manufactured waterways and infrastructure
after clearing the national debt in particular he called for a canal from buffalo to albany
these essays began attracting attention for many people in new york and many agreed with
his calls for waterways these people found many of their strongest arguments from his writing
and when the mask from the pen name fell away holly found wide admiration after his stint in
debtors prison he served on the state assembly for a session and gained an official position in the
state government 1806 saw the beginnings of calls for a canal and they would only get louder and
louder eventually a senator would take the cause to washington senator dewitt clinton born march
the 2nd 1769 and little britain new york grew up with the revolution just as holly did nephew of
governor george clinton he had many ties to new york serving as a state senator from 1798 to 1802
then a u.s senator for new york from 1802 to 1803 then as mayor of new york from 1803 to 1815
during his service as mayor of new york city he stepped into the state senate's office
for a third term in 1806 to a state calling for a project of previously unheard of scale
by 1809 a proposal was on the president's desk but the idea of the canal didn't get off to a
romantic start basically thomas jefferson picked up the document and was utterly appalled the
state of new york was asking for the government's assistance in constructing an over 360-mile canal
from the hudson river to the great lakes this canal would let boats sail from the new york
harbor up the hudson to albany then cross the state in an entirely manufactured river existing
from buffalo to lake erie a project of this scale even today would be beyond imagination jefferson
seeing the sheer manpower required for something this massive turned down the proposal stating
that it was quote unquote little short of madness senator clinton wasn't a man to give up so easily
however during his tenure he had constantly gone the extra mile to serve the voice of the people
advocating for free public education removing voting restrictions on roman catholics and
even establishing public welfare in new york city by 1811 he brought together a new proposal
this time to the new york senate he introduced a bill to create a commission to search for the
best route for a canal from albany to buffalo to many this sounded suspiciously like that insane
proposal he put to the president for many in the state this was a step too far you see jefferson
was and remains a popular president and this blatant disregard of his opinion on the matter
was nothing short of disrespectful the united states of 1811 only had its developing self to
rely upon so massive skill investments were chosen carefully american politicians quickly took to
mocking this project with names such as clinton's folly or dewitt's ditch all the same clinton was
politically savvy enough to push the bill through the state despite opposition the commission
was approved they'll work on the commission and by extension the canal stalled the opposition was
still very loud and it was a bit too controversial to continue not many political advancements
happened at all in 1812 as war had once again come to the republic trade sanctions and other disputes
had led to a formal declaration of war from the united states to great britain and throughout the
three-year-long war an invasion went into canada failed and canadian and british troops marched
in washington dc burning down the white house despite heavy american losses and fewer british
and canadian losses the war of 1812 ended in a military draw however just before peace the battle
of new orleans took place repelling a full-scale british naval invasion aiming to take new orleans
west florida and the entire louisiana territory this decisive victory providing just enough war
support to end the conflict on a positive note also provided the perfect political climate for
clinton to proceed with the plans for his canal clinton traveled to albany the state capital of
new york there he laid out his new and refined plans for the canal and fought for their approval
after yet more debate and political maneuvering the plans were again approved turning the most
ambitious project in the world into a state affair since he couldn't get the president's aid
clinton pushed for the state of new york to complete this project by itself and now you might
be wondering how he would pull it off without the support of the federal government after all
president jefferson called his plan nothing short of insanity well he wanted to call upon engineers
in europe to assist but they were either too busy too expensive or dismayed by the mere concept of
carving a swath through the entirety of upper state new york without a drop of federal funding
left with no other resource the canal commission called upon local amateur designers to draft up
the plans for the project the rest of the world would describe as impossible among this ragtag
crew were several self-taught engineers inexperienced surveyors and at least one
local math teacher two chief engineers of the project were benjamin wright and james goddess
two lawyers who got their experience surveying land by resolving disputes wright wasted no time
in sending his assistant canvas white who we have already learned about in other videos to study
in europe for a year white found the teachings of leonardo da vinci to be the most useful what white
was interested in was da vinci's design for canal locks these locks would lower and raise boats
depending on upcoming water levels which would be invaluable for the varying elevations of upstate
new york variations of these locks would also be used in the panama canal nearly 100 years later
as white returned to america he assisted in a crucial discovery ordinary cement was unsuitable
for the canal construction the constant exposure to water would wear down any typical adhesive
until it broke from water damage europe had already faced this and created a solution
hydraulic cement it hardened and remained stiff underwater making it perfect for projects such
as this however europe held is only stocks and new york couldn't import any due to budgetary
constraints white faced with yet another hurdle brought on a colleague named andrew barstall
to experiment with cement mixes eventually they discovered a local source limestone when
appropriately prepared it formed into a widely available and inexpensive hydraulic cement
allowing for the continuation of the project at this point the actual progress of creating the
waterway could begin astonishingly many of these same engineers took up axes and began clearing
the way for the canal themselves remember this was the late 1810s there was no heavy machinery
or power tools trees had to be cut down with axes pulled down with ratchets and moved away by hand
a ratchet could pull down the entirety of the large ones but the smaller ones left stumps
hence a math teacher named nathan roberts stepped in with a solution a giant stump remover powered
by a team of oxen this contraption increased the amount of removed stumps per day tenfold
from 4 to 40. by independence day 1817 the first ground that would make up the waterway broke work
began on digging the canal near rome new york this 90-mile strip was towards the center of the canal
with the least number of natural obstacles for the trench any rocky cliffs or swamps would make
carving the channel infinitely more challenging so they were actively avoiding them wherever possible
initially the state contracted local landowners to hire their workforce for clearing land
40 feet wide four feet deep and holding tow towpaths on either side one would think that
a state government suddenly forcing landowners to distribute a payroll would be very unpopular
but many were excited about the project having an extremely lucrative trade path in their backyards
was a dream for some and they were willing to break the bank to realize it wages were 50 cents
to a dollar today which translates to around 11 to 22 dollars in today's money the first days
were excruciatingly slow every day starting in 1818 would see only a few feet excavated
despite the efforts of 3 000 men and 700 horses every day endeavoring to speed it up by 1819 the
utica river now known as mohawk river connected with the seneca river however that milestone
marked the end of the easy part now the canal face carving a path through the montezuma swamps
notorious for its disease written mosquitoes it was here that the promises of lucrative trade
routes stopped being worth the risk and many contractors abandoned the project the state
had hit yet another dead end most of the canal was yet to be carved but contractors were walking out
where workers were once everywhere they now had a significant vacancy thankfully for the state
1820 saw a massive influx of irish immigrants into new york suddenly thousands of people were fresh
off the boat from across the atlantic and looking for any kind of work out there and their vacancies
seemed very welcoming the key word here is seemed welcoming as the canal progressed into the swamps
malaria began claiming lives of workers in droves thousands of irish immigrants passed away from
what they knew as genesee fever but the project continued as usual at the beginning of the year
the canal commission reported that three quarters of the canal team were americans by the following
year there were so many irish on this project that they outnumbered even the local populations
anti-irish and anti-catholic sentiment flared in these regions and their treatment reflected it
on top of dealing with constant fights the irish had wages of only 12 dollars a month or
264 dollars in today's money and apparently some were paid in whiskey despite their treatment the
irish persevered they quickly gained a reputation for doing all the most demanding and dangerous
work that nobody else wanted or could do blasting open the canal's path often involved black powder
which was known for its unpredictability and could claim dozens of lives if it was placed
even slightly incorrectly and the irish worked with it regardless at last the canal commission
came to the final challenge and the most difficult of them all the niagara escarpment the same rock
formation that makes up the niagara falls this was an unavoidable 70-foot tall cliff blocking the
path to lake erie the standard canal locks only went up 15 feet at most so this was the biggest
challenge and the final hurdle and many had absolutely no idea how to approach it fortunately
nathan roberts had an innovative solution why not just make multiple locks he drew up plans for a
staircase of boats made up of five locks providing just the right altitude to scale up the escarpment
this design proved so successful that the nearby town changed its name in celebration lockport
however there was still one question where would they get all the water for these locks
the solution seemed obvious lake erie was right there however the niagara escarpment was pure
bedrock the only way to clear path was black powder so up step the irish to blast the seven
mile path from lockport to the lake to avoid using black power the entire
time the irish also heated the bedrock with fire and poured ice-cold water on it to crack the rocks
which they could then clean as usual however the bedrock wouldn't pose the only challenge
more anti-irish sentiment found a home in lockport as well leading to a violent riot in 1822
anyhow the irish would finish the deep cut and many chose to settle in lockport forming a proud
irish settlement in upstate new york by 1825 the canal commission had done the impossible the new
waterway was immediately put into use in trade and transport rapidly becoming a vital artery
in the american expansion westward the first boat to traverse the grand canal was the seneca chief
and aboard it was senator dewitt clinton eager to travel through what was once called the wits folly
through the erie canal the great lakes had a link to new york city harbor which proved invaluable
for cities like chicago and detroit it had become so successful that an extension of 70 feet wide
and seven feet deep was necessary within a decade of its opening the rest of the world was in utter
disbelief what was once called impossible and insane had been done in little over a decade
the erie canal was the first major industrial undertaking of the united states and something
that the rest of the world had never seen before even more importantly the canal solidified new
york city as the united states commercial capital believe it or not before 1825 philadelphia
boston and new orleans were more important now thanks to the new canal a boat could sail from
the great lakes to the atlantic ocean in 10 days new york suddenly became the gateway to the west
for the rest of the world as time went on the 19th century would not see an engineering feat
nearly as enormous and successful as the erie canal the once self-made bunch of engineers that
developed the canal had now become graduates of the so-called erie school of engineering
initially just a figure of speech that quantified the sheer amount of learning and experience they
underwent to create the canal however it became literal as in 1824 a school of engineering took
root at the mouth of the erie canal in a town called troy new york this school would become
known as the rensselaer polytechnic institute the nation's first civil engineering institute
even though other routes of transport now exist the erie canal is still in frequent use as larger
boats than ever before still pass its waters the historic marvel is also a popular destination for
tourist boats like kayaks and canoes which travelers use to traverse these waterways
consider what a special notion that is this is one of the few pieces of industry the us has from the
1800s still in use and unlike many of our lost marvels people still adore it the united states
of america is a truly unique nation but in some ways the erie canal was one of the first times
it showed what it was made of from its engineers to the irish ditch diggers it's a testament that
when you empower a basic man with a vision his capability might even surprise the president
of the republic with new york as an international entryway the united states would call to the world
give me your tired your poor your huddled masses yearning to breathe free i lift my lamp beside the
golden door for many perhaps that golden door led straight to the erie canal before you go subscribe
don't miss our video about the lost canals of new jersey this is ryan socash signing off
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