About this title: The building of the Erie Canal in the first quarter of the nineteenth century is one of the greatest and most riveting stories of American ingenuity. Featuring a rich cast of characters, including not only political visionaries like Washington and Jefferson, but also a huge platoon of Irish diggers as well as the canal's first travellers, "Wedding ...
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Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Former Library book. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Date Published: 2006-02-13
ISBN-13:9780393327953ISBN:0393327957
Description: New. New, unread, unused & in perfect condition with no damaged or missing pages. Pre-release book with different cover and publisher stickers. Great Copy. Ships Lightning Fast. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Date Published: 2006-02-13
ISBN-13:9780393327953ISBN:0393327957
Description: Very Good. Mild bumping and wear from handling; Mild tanning to page edges; Mild rubbing and wear to covers and spine; ** Free USPS tracking and confirm on US orders ** read more
Edition: Text is Free of Markings
Binding: Cloth
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, New York
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780393052336ISBN:0393052338
Description: Very Good to Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. 448 pp. Tightly bound. Corners not bumped. Light rounding to cloth at heal of spine. read more
Edition: First edition. 1st Printing
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, NY
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780393052336ISBN:0393052338
Description: Fine in fine dust jacket. NF/NF. 8vo. 448pp. 8pp. Plates, 2pp. Map, Illus, Bib, Index. read more
Description: Very Good. Truly very good softcover, no marks in text, glossy, bright, tight, name on endpaper, very reliable shipper(shelf#56) read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Date Published: 2006-02-13
ISBN-13:9780393327953ISBN:0393327957
Description: Like New. Like new softcover in excellent condition, non-smoking home, clean text, binding tight, no writing, Christian business. read more
Edition: First Printing
Binding: hardbound
Publisher: W.W. Norton, New York
Date Published: (2005)
ISBN-13:9780393052336ISBN:0393052338
Description: Good plus or better, corners and spine ends lightly bumped. Clean, bright and tight. Very lightly edgeworn jacket. Bar code sticker on back jacket. read more
Edition: Stated 1st Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780393052336ISBN:0393052338
Description: Illustrated. Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. 6.5 x 9.5 hard cover book. Off white and black lettering on the color illustrated dust jacket spine and cover. The epic account of how one narrow ribbon of water forever changed the course of American history. 448 pages. Stated 1st Edition. Light wear. Tight binding. Near Fine/Near Fine condition. read more
Description: Very Good. Norton, TPB, 2006, 1st PB printing. Lightly used, clean, solid binding, light wear corners and edges, no markings or highlighting. read more
"Wedding of the Waters refers to the celebration starting on October 26 and ending on November 4, 1824 commemorating the completion of the Erie Canal. Celebrations began at Buffalo on Lake Erie, the western end of the canal, and ended at Sandy Hook in New York Harbor. There, De Wit Clinton symbolically poured water from Lake Erie into the Atlantic Ocean.
Bernstein, an economic historian, divides the book into five parts the Visionaries, the Action Begins, the Creation, the Stupendous Path and After the Wedding. George Washington was among the visionaries. He argued that canals joined with rivers were a superior means of transportation. Roads of the time were unpaved, snow bound in the winter and mud holes during much of the rest of the year. Washington further argued that unless a canal was built across the Alleghenies it was quite likely that the nation would split with the 13 original colonies huddled against the sea and the west on the other side of the mountains expanding independently. His solution was the Patowmack Canal Company, which if built, would combine a series of canals with the Potomac River.
Others in New York State used the same nation unifying argument to justify a canal linking Albany on the Hudson with Lake Erie.
The Action Begins is a misnomer especially if action means something sudden. Albert Gallatin, Jefferson's Secretary of Treasury, reported in 1808 that a canal across New York was feasible. Digging did not start until July 4, 1817. Granted, the War of 1812 interfered, but it took time to build the political will to build the canal. In the meantime there were numerous commissions, expeditions and reports justifying the canal but not coming to grips with how to finance it. At first, New Yorkers hoped the federal government would provide the necessary funds. Jefferson, a stockholder in the Patowmack Company, turned them down. Finally, with the powerful influence of De Wit Clinton, the New York legislature provided funding.
The canal was to be 363 miles long, 40 feet wide, 4 feet deep with a 20 foot towpath. Buffalo was 550 feet above sea level and Albany was at sea level. A very good map of the route is provided at the beginning of the book. Almost impassable forests covered much of the route. It was built by hand, shovels, wagons, horses, oxen and black powder when needed. Most importantly it was built by wage earning, not slave labor.
Bernstein offers statistics and descriptions showing how towns along the canal such as Rochester and Buffalo grew as a result of the waterway. He then describes how the canal helped the development of the Midwest and finally how it caused the development of international trade with New York City as the U. S. hub. The last chapter entitled, the Granary of the World, describes how the repeal of the Corn Laws in Great Britain in 1847 escalated international trade.
Bernstein writes well and tells a very interesting story about the canal."
"The Erie Canal is far from the center of national consciousness these days, but in its time, it was a wonder to boggle the imagination, and one of the early icons of American inginuity. Naturally, such an immense project was not without controversy- particularly over how to fund it- and Bernstein covers all of that. If you live in Upstate New York, are interested in the early years of our nation's history, or if you are impressed by great stories of engineering and mankind conquering his environment, you should find this a very enjoyable read."
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