Building the Empire
EJ LeClair
Teacher: Kelly Sherman
11/4/2014
The America of the post Independence War was a very different place, New York State had been a loyalist strong hold during the war and this had diminished its standing in the newly formed nation. In 1810 Dewitt Clinton, the current mayor of New York City, had the insane idea to connect New York to Lake Erie via the Mohawk Valley the only western pass in the Appalachian Mountains. This seemingly delusional idea would require four surveyors to learn to build canals by building canals. Required the re-invention of hydraulic cement, and create the foundation for New York State to be the largest port in the new country, and later to earn the name Empire State. A farmer in the norther regions of the east coast would need to send their products over three thousand miles, …show more content…
The limitations for shipping and their stance during the war for independence had greatly diminished New York state, both politically and financially. In 1810 Dewitt Clinton the Mayor of New York City had a plan to resolve this problem. Mohawk Valley was one of the few passes through the Appalachian mountains. Mr. Clinton's plan was to build a canal, while there was some variation in the original destination, the final decision was to go from the Hudson River to Lake Erie. This was thought to be delusional, the canal was to be forty feet wide, three hundred and sixty miles long, and have more that eighty locks at ninety feet in length. This was all to be done without heavy machinery, engineers with experience building canals, let alone through rough wilderness with an altitude change of one inch per mile. President James Madison thought the idea so audacious he rejected the proposal for funding by Federal Government, even Thomas Jefferson thought it wouldn't be able to be attempted for at least another century (Bryson,
EJ LeClair
Teacher: Kelly Sherman
11/4/2014
The America of the post Independence War was a very different place, New York State had been a loyalist strong hold during the war and this had diminished its standing in the newly formed nation. In 1810 Dewitt Clinton, the current mayor of New York City, had the insane idea to connect New York to Lake Erie via the Mohawk Valley the only western pass in the Appalachian Mountains. This seemingly delusional idea would require four surveyors to learn to build canals by building canals. Required the re-invention of hydraulic cement, and create the foundation for New York State to be the largest port in the new country, and later to earn the name Empire State. A farmer in the norther regions of the east coast would need to send their products over three thousand miles, …show more content…
The limitations for shipping and their stance during the war for independence had greatly diminished New York state, both politically and financially. In 1810 Dewitt Clinton the Mayor of New York City had a plan to resolve this problem. Mohawk Valley was one of the few passes through the Appalachian mountains. Mr. Clinton's plan was to build a canal, while there was some variation in the original destination, the final decision was to go from the Hudson River to Lake Erie. This was thought to be delusional, the canal was to be forty feet wide, three hundred and sixty miles long, and have more that eighty locks at ninety feet in length. This was all to be done without heavy machinery, engineers with experience building canals, let alone through rough wilderness with an altitude change of one inch per mile. President James Madison thought the idea so audacious he rejected the proposal for funding by Federal Government, even Thomas Jefferson thought it wouldn't be able to be attempted for at least another century (Bryson,