Erie Canal

The Erie Canal is a waterway opened in 1825 that connected the Hudson River with the Great Lakes, creating a navigable route across New York State.

Lock (water transport): A lock is an enclosed chamber that raises or lowers boats between sections of water at different elevations. Locks let canal boats cross the elevation changes between the Hudson River and Lake Erie.
DeWitt Clinton: DeWitt Clinton was a New York politician who championed construction of the Erie Canal and became governor in 1817. As governor, he secured political support for the canal despite opponents' doubts about its feasibility.
New York City: New York City is a major port and the most populous city in the United States, located at the mouth of the Hudson River. Canal traffic strengthened the city's commercial ties to the Great Lakes and western interior.
National Road: The National Road was the first federally funded highway in the United States, built westward from Maryland beginning in 1811. It offered an overland route west, unlike the Erie Canal's water connection to the Great Lakes.
Mohawk River: The Mohawk River is a river in upstate New York that flows east to the Hudson River. The canal followed much of the Mohawk Valley, a natural corridor through the Appalachian highlands.
Jesse Hawley: Jesse Hawley was a New York merchant whose essays advocated a canal linking the Hudson River to Lake Erie. His writings helped make a cross-state canal a concrete public proposal.
Buffalo, New York: Buffalo is a city at the eastern end of Lake Erie in western New York. Its position at the canal's western terminus helped it grow into a major inland port.
Champlain Canal: The Champlain Canal is a New York waterway linking the Hudson River with Lake Champlain. It connected the Hudson to a different northern route and formed part of New York's canal network.
Lake Erie: Lake Erie is the southernmost of the Great Lakes, bordering the United States and Canada. The canal's western terminus at Buffalo connected its route to this Great Lake.
New York State Legislature: The New York State Legislature is the state's lawmaking body, composed of the Senate and Assembly. It authorized the canal in 1817 and provided the legal basis for construction.

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