Often credited with helping to create what America now knows as the Empire State, the story of the Erie Canal is more than a New York story. The creation of the Erie Canal represented a large-scale effort by people to change their environment to be more advantageous to them. The canal impacted American culture, economics, politics, and more. It set America on a path of destiny, from a fledgling nation to a worldwide superpower.
– John Richardson, Rome, NY local judge and contractor at the groundbreaking of the Erie Canal on July 4, 1817
Watch the video to learn about the creation of the Erie Canal and the impact it had on the country. This video will introduce you to the concepts and ideas that you will be exploring during this lesson.
| Keyboard Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Pause/Play video playback |
| Enter | Pause/Play video playback |
| m | Mute/Unmute video volume |
| Up and Down arrows | Increase and decrease volume by 10% |
| Right and Left arrows | Seek forward or backward by 5 seconds |
| 0-9 | Fast seek to x% of the video. |
| f | Enter or exit fullscreen. (Note: To exit fullscreen in flash press the Esc key. |
| c | Press c to toggle captions on or off |
According to the video, why was the building of the Erie Canal important to the entire country? Please write your answer in 2-4 sentences. (Click SAVE when you have finished. To see your saved or submitted work again, click MY WORK at the top of the page.)