The National Government began the construction of the Erie Canal in 1811. The major goal for the Erie Canal was to link Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes to the Atlantic Coast through a canal. The Erie Canal, a 363 mile long stretch, was completed on October 25, 1825. It improved transportation and helped populate the interior of the U.S. Before the building process of the canal, the State governments engaged in a meeting about the building of the canal. The major source of the State's income came from taxation and the regulation of profit from the transportation. During the process, interstate rivalries fought over who had what right to license and collect fees from the transportation services. Extreme economic problems came around when
