Erie Water West : A History of the Erie Canal, 1792-1854

The construction of the Erie Canal may truly be described as a major event in the growth of the young United States. At a time when the internal links among the states were scanty, the canal's planners boldly projected a system of transportation that would strike from the eastern seaboard, penetrate the frontier, and forge a bond between the East and the growing settlements of the West. In this comprehensive history, Ronald E. Shaw portrays the development of the canal as viewed by its contemporaries, who rightly saw it as an engineering marvel and an achievement of great economic and social significance not only for New York but also for the nation. Frontmatter Preface (page vii) I. The Prophecy 1. Up the Mowhawk to the West (page 3) 2. Jesse Hawley's "Genesee Canal" (page 22) 3. Survey and Report (page 38) 4. From Prophecy into Law (page 56) II. The Grand Canal 5. Forty Feet Wide and Four Feet Deep (page 83) 6. The Politics of Construction (page 101) 7. The Canal Comes West (page 123) 8. Black Rock or Buffalo (page 140) 9. The Politics of Removal (page 164) 10. The Wedding of the Waters (page 181) III. On Erie Water 11. Packets, Freighters, and Canallers (page 197) 12. Pure and Wholesome Water (page 219) 13. The State Runs a Canal (page 236) 14. The Trade of the "Teeming West" (page 260) 15. "Commerce is King" (page 279) IV. Politics and Nationalism 16. The "Forty Million Debt," 1835-1841 (page 303) 17. The Democratic Stop Policy, 1842-1846 (page 330) 18. The Canal Goes On, 1847-1854 (page 361) 19. A Canal for the Nation (page 397) Essay on Bibliography (page 419) Index (page 433)