The Erie Canal was an intense undertaking for the city of New York, and one that would pay off all throughout the early to mid 20th century, and even beyond into the modern age. Building the canal required an incredible amount of labor, and the clearing of what was essentially a virgin forest. The impact of all that effort was far reaching and long lasting.
Economic Impacts
The Canal was primarily envisioned as a way to make transport of goods by horse an obsolete practice. Horses could only carry about 250 lbs worth of goods, so the Canal would enable transport by boat. The hope was to open up the West to goods from the east coast and expand trade as well. With the Canal, boats could easily move around the East coast and deliver goods at will.
Immigration Impacts
The Canal was an important part of immigrant life for that time. It was a major source of employment, as many Irish workers found out, and it would later become an important source of information for genealogists. Those who rode the canal to and from work had to log their names into a book, so it became easy to use these public records in order to identify past family members.
Other Impacts
The Canal was completed around the same time as the British Corn Law was repealed, which gave the Midwest of America the opportunity to export corn and grain overseas. This had the unintended effect of strengthening ties between England and the US.
About the Author: Phineas Upham is an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media and Telecom group. You may contact Phin on his Phineas Upham website or Twitter page.
