The Study Of The Erie Canal’s Construction And Effect In The United States

The Erie Canal was open to shipping in1825, which marks that the state of New York has conquered all other archrivals and stands out in competing for economic center in the west. The Erie Canal had become the most convenient, economic and busiest communication line connecting the east and the west before the USA entered the railway age. This not only contributed to increasing profit, but also advanced the Westward Movement. The successful dig of the Erie Canal can be attributed to two reasons:on the one hand, the government of the state has provided all-round support for the project; on the other hand, those who want to move to the west, manufactures in the east and farm owners in the west are the best performers and pushers for digging the canal to connect the west. At the same time, it is desperately needed for the development of American Western regions and enhancement of federalism to establish communication between the east and the west of the USA. However, it should be clearly pointed out that the disagreement over issues about transportation construction within the federal government during this period has exerted a bad influence on the movement of canal-related issues. After the War of1812, the State of New York adjusted the strategies of digging the canal, which is to dig the canal independently instead of depending on the federal funding. Finally, under the leadership of the state government, the so-called "Crazy Project" was successfully completed with creative construction strategies, spanning8years. The digging history of the Erie Canal written by the state of New York shows that the federal government in early times bear unclearly distributed responsibilities and duties compared with state government, and it also indicates a fact that the right of state is much stronger than that of the central government.