US History before 1877, Development of Erie Canal Research Paper

US History before 1877, Development of Erie Canal - Research Paper Example This paper will discuss US history before 1877, with special focus on the â€Å"Development of Erie Canal†.The main points which this paper is going to cover are the historical perspective of the canal, construction of the canal, improvements in the plan and the financial implications of the canal project. The time era under discussion is between 1807 to 1825. Historical Perspective During the period between the late 18th and early 19th century the USA started to plan and develop the system of transportation throughout the country with special focus on the interiors areas and outside the localities from Appalachian mountainous regions. The main focus was on the linkage between Erie Lake and other big lakes in the coast of Atlantic by making canals. Initially a large number of survey and plans were laid out for the construction of the canal but most of them were not feasible and were rejected. The final plan was based on the survey which was carried out in 1816. Based on this s urvey the route of the canal was established. According to the plan the canal was expected to connect to the New York port at the river of Hudson close to Troy in the New York City. From Troy the flow of the canal would be towards Rome in New York. Finally it would reach to Buffalo (on the northeastern coast of Erie Lake) by passing through Syracuse and Rochester [1]. 1. Matt Rosenberg (2010), Erie  Canal, The Building of the Great Western Canal. Online accession at About.com Guide (Accessed February 12th, 2011). After the development of the route plan of the Erie Canal the major issue was the arrangement of finances for the project. A bill was initially approved by the US congress for the provision of funding for the project then named as â€Å"The Great Western Canal†. The idea was found unconstitutional by The President of time J. Monroe and he vetoed it. The matter was then directly taken by the state legislature. The legislature, after extensive examination of the plan , approved for the funding of the Erie Canal project in the year 1816 with the condition that the tolls would be paid back to the government after the completion of the project. The city Mayor of New York was the chief supporter of the canal project and helped a lot for the construction and completion of the task. Fortunately he became the governor of the state in the year 1817 and was thus able to supervise the details of the plan [1]. Construction of Canal The formal construction of the canal named â€Å"Erie canal† began on 4th July, 1817. According to the plan the initial first segment was to be proceeded from the eastern side of Rome towards the river Hudson. Most of the constructors of the canal were the rich farmers who resided along the route of the canal. They were contracted to make the small portions of the project which came along their way. A large number of immigrants from Great Brittan, Germany and Ire Land supported the construction of canal in terms of manpow er [2]. 1. Matt Rosenberg (2010), Erie  Canal, The Building of the Great Western Canal. Online accession at About.com Guide (Accessed February 12th, 2011) 2. Christopher. M (2008).  "Hints of Comeback for Nation's First Superhighway".  The New York Times. (Accessed February 12th, 2011). The portions of canal were to be dug with the help of horses and shovels. At time modern earth moving specialized equipment were not available so the construction of such plans was a tedious job. The labor cost was about 85 cents to 100 cents per day. This was a heavy amount since it was about three times the pay which a laborer earned during that time. The initial 24 kilometer of the canal - from Rome to Utica - were formally opened around the year 1819. The rate of construction was visibly slow; at the speed during that time, the canal