Erie Canal
While governor, Clinton was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal. He was persuaded by Canal proponent Jesse Hawley to support construction of a canal from the eastern shore of Lake Erie to the upper Hudson River. Many thought the project was impracticable, and opponents mocked it as "DeWitt's Ditch". But in 1817, he got the legislature to appropriate $7,000,000 for construction. When the Canal was finished in 1825, Governor Clinton opened it, sailing in the packet boat Seneca Chief along the Canal into Buffalo. After sailing from the mouth of Lake Erie to New York City he emptied two casks of water from Lake Erie into New York Harbor, celebrating the first connection of waters from East to West. The Canal was an immense success, carrying huge amounts of passenger and freight traffic. It provided cheap transportation from the Atlantic to the West, drawing traffic to New York state and New York City, which became the most important state and city in America.
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Famous quotes containing the words erie and/or canal:
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