Crafted from a vast well of historical evidence and text, The Artificial River, not only highlights the engineering feat in the construction of the Erie Canal, but masterfully weaves in a great era of change in the United States including burgeoning commercial growth, new forms of mechanical innovations, and the social shift of the polity of a nation headed towards civil war. The author of the book, Carol Sheriff, immaculately portrays the arduous yet rewarding project that would shift landscapes, change lives, and alter the American economic system. Sheriff is aptly able to portray the ever growing “Visions of Progress” in her book, as the expansion of urbanization, industry, and the thirst for resources fuels the growing United States, beginning with the first grand project of the
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For many it held true to a promise of progress that is legible in just the introduction with “many settlers in the western hinterlands of New York marveled at the availability of fresh oysters so far inland. fresh oysters spoiled easily and could be consumed only within a few days’ travel from the coast.” (Sheriff) Discontent is amazingly shown in vivid detail in the fifth chapter The Politics of Business, in which the apt description of protest by the towns of Rome and Schenectady as the Erie Canal would create economic rivalry that they feared they compete with. Adding details about how the canal affects not only the economy on a national level, but by depicting its role in disrupting trade routes on a local level gives credence to Sheriff. By continually comparing the benefits and the costs of the Erie Canal, sheriff allows readers to make their own decision on whether the construction of the artificial river was worth the price. Sheriff’s method of comparative writing is so lively that it draws readers to question what they know, while understanding the multiple implications of
For many it held true to a promise of progress that is legible in just the introduction with “many settlers in the western hinterlands of New York marveled at the availability of fresh oysters so far inland. fresh oysters spoiled easily and could be consumed only within a few days’ travel from the coast.” (Sheriff) Discontent is amazingly shown in vivid detail in the fifth chapter The Politics of Business, in which the apt description of protest by the towns of Rome and Schenectady as the Erie Canal would create economic rivalry that they feared they compete with. Adding details about how the canal affects not only the economy on a national level, but by depicting its role in disrupting trade routes on a local level gives credence to Sheriff. By continually comparing the benefits and the costs of the Erie Canal, sheriff allows readers to make their own decision on whether the construction of the artificial river was worth the price. Sheriff’s method of comparative writing is so lively that it draws readers to question what they know, while understanding the multiple implications of