The completion of the Erie Canal spurred the first great westward movement of American settlers, gave access to the rich land and resources west of the Appalachians and made New York the preeminent commercial city in the United States.
The completion in 1825 of the Erie Canal (below), connecting Lake Erie with the Hudson River, was an event of major importance in Michigan history because it greatly facilitated the transportation of passengers and freight between the eastern seaboard and Michigan ports.
The canal proved it's value from the start becuase the route linked the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes, opening the western part of the state and the Midwest to settlement, creating new markets for goods and bringing unimagined prosperity to New York City.
The Erie Canal was then proposed and created as an efficient transportation lane, lowering the cost of shipping and increasing trade, spreading machinery and manufactured goods, making the United States more economically independent and establishing some of the country's most prominent cities.
What Are the two economic effects of the Erie Canal? City Expansion and Goods traveling on it. How much did women make in the textile mills?
The Erie Canal provided a direct water route from New York City to the Midwest, triggering large-scale commercial and agricultural development—as well as immigration—to the sparsely populated frontiers of western New York, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and points farther west.
What was one major effect of the opening of the Erie Canal? The cost of shipping goods from the Midwest decreased.
It opened direct trade between the Great Lakes and New York City. The Great Lakes region grew. It increased trade on the Mississippi. Northerners were able to move west more efficiently and in greater numbers.
A canal between the New York cities of Albany and Buffalo, completed in 1825. The canal, considered a marvel of the modern world at the time, allowed western farmers to ship surplus crops to sell in the North and allowed northern manufacturers to ship finished goods to sell in the West.
The Impact of the Erie Canal It improved the economy in some cities in New York such as Buffalo Lockport, and Rochester. It lead New York to industrialization. It decreased the cost of transporting goods. Previously, New York was mostly small villages and farms.
The National Road played a major role in the westward expansion of the United States, and its importance was comparable to that of the Erie Canal. Travel on the National Road was reliable, and many thousands of settlers going westward in heavily loaded wagons got their start by following its route.
How did the Erie Canal affect urbanization? By shifting economic activity from the river cities to Great Lakes cities.