How Did The Erie Canal Affect Antebellum America

There were many new technological advancements in Antebellum America such as the cotton gin, the steamboat, and the power loom, but none changed Antebellum America more than the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal is considered one of the greatest technological advancements of its generation. The Erie Canal was not only impressive technologically but it also connected markets that otherwise were not connected, and it helped spark the Market Revolution. The Erie Canal led to massive changes in Antebellum America because it brought markets together and allowed for people and goods to travel more efficiently. The Canal caused a shift in thinking in Antebellum America and lead people to start believing in a market economy. The Erie Canal changed Antebellum America socially and economically and helped shape America the way it is today. The first dig
It is not a coincidence that the Canal was built on American Independence Day, because this was a day when all Americans came together and did something amazing no one thought they could do. The Erie Canal was a massive venture and like most infrastructures it needed to be built by hand. The first task in building the Erie Canal was to make a working class. This class would be made up of lowly educated immigrants that would work on the canal daily. This class would have to be temporary because a low educated working class was not part of the plan for expansion in America. The canal was America’s number one priority and the amount of effort being put into it was prominent from early on. Men went to work on the canal, and women would house and feed the men working on the canal in their city. Building the canal was no easy task it would involve digging up the earth, removing tree stumps, spending time in marshes, and being paid very low wages. Mostly Irish immigrants worked on the canal because they were typically single men that came to America looking for work (40). These men received no praise