5594. Wedding of the Waters The Erie Canal and the Making of a Great Nation, by Peter L. Bernstein (read 14 Nov 2018) This book tells in easy reading style of the Erie Canal, which was built in New York State, by New York State, from 1818 to 1825. I remember in grade school history learning of the building of the Erie Canal and this book shows how important the Canal was to growing of this country. I wish there had been in the book a few photographs of the Canal in the present day, since I understand that at least parts of it still exist and are used for recreation. The book says the water in the canal was four feet deep and it is still a mystery how so many ships could use the canal if i that is all the water that was in it. So my quarrel with the book is it simply assumed we knew more about the canal than I,,at least, know. I would greatly like to see the canal even if it is not operational today. The author makes a good case for showing how important the Canal was in its time. ( )

At first this book was a little disappointing. I was expecting something more on the lines McCullogh’s book about the Panama Canal, The Path Between the Seas, with details of the difficulties and methods involved in construction of the Erie Canal. However, the author of Wedding of the Waters is an economist, not an engineer or historian, and it shows. The technical problems involved in building the Erie Canal are either glossed over or explained in a way that shows the author was out of his depth (for example, Mr. Bernstein thinks it’s necessary to explain to his readers what a “lever” is, and his description of a stump-pulling machine leaves out some crucial details necessary to operation that are quickly visible from a contemporary illustration on one of the plates).

However, Mr. Bernstein’s presentation grows on you. His central thesis is that the Erie Canal was vital to the development and unification of the United States, by providing a way for the states and territories west of the Appalachians to get their agricultural produce to the east, and thence across the Atlantic. A telling statistic is that is cost about 21 times as much to move flour by wagon as it did by canal barge; by wagon, flour from Ohio couldn’t make it across the mountains before it cost more to transport than you could sell it for; by barge and then by ship it was profitable to ship it to and sell it in Liverpool. The influence of the Canal on the development of the Midwest was profound; Rochester, Buffalo, Cleveland and Chicago went from isolated villages to cities within a few years of the Canal’s completion. Bernstein builds on these numbers to suggest that if the canal hadn’t been built, the trans-Appalachian west might have become as secessionist as the South; with no connection to the eastern seaboard it might have sided with the South (with which it had transport connections by way of the Mississippi and tributaries) or remained neutral. (There were, of course, eventually rail connections but they may have been too little and too late).

Economic, political and social factors are emphasized throughout. The struggles to finance the Canal are presented in detail, which can get heavy if you’re not sympathetic to the general theme. Byzantine New York State politics, especially the career of De Witt Clinton, are also covered at length. (De Witt evoked the same sort of love-him or hate-him dichotomy among his contemporaries as Bill; I wonder if there’s a distant relationship?) The social aspect of canal travel, with descriptions of the less-than-luxurious accommodations, is a nice reminder to people who yearn for the good old days.

I think I have to give this one four and a half stars. I would have liked a little more engineering details, but it’s already a pretty thick book and you can’t have everything. Where would you put it? ( )

Excellent read, a must for those interested in upper and western New York. In building the Erie Canal, the swath of destruction left behind was breathtaking. A huge machine was invented that uprooted large trees which were left just about where they fell (not logged, in other words). The Canal drove out many more settlers than it brought in. My gr(3) grandfather who settled on the Holland Purchase in Niagara County in 1815 fled to Michigan Territory shortly before it opened (1825).

A generally unimpressive account of the creation of the Erie Canal, covering both the political and an engineering aspects. I felt like this story had much more potential than Bernstein was able to execute. Probably safe to give this one a miss. ( )

At the beginning of the 19th century, the United States was just getting its feet wet as a nation. One of the many problems in governing the country was simply its size. Getting news and goods from one side of the colonies to another could take an inordinately long time. At the time, water-based travel was the fastest, but boats could get to only so many cities. But in 1807, an interesting idea came along to cut a waterway from New York all the way across the state to Lake Erie. Barges could travel from the eastern seaboard to the Great Lakes. From there goods to be delivered to inland cities or even taken to the Mississippi River system. Peter Bernstein’s Wedding of the Waters tells the story of the planning, politics, and piloting of the Erie Canal.

Bernstein focuses more on the political and economic context of the Erie Canal than on actual efforts that went into its construction, but even those are interesting. The sheer amount of cooperation requires to literally dig a trench through an entire state is mind-boggling and the machinations of such an effort are captured well here. One of the most amazing things to remember is that at this time in the U.S., there were no civil engineers. Sure, there were folks who apprenticed with surveying equipment, but the concept of civil engineering was not yet formed.

Still, once ground was broken in 1817, it only took eight years to finish the project. Once completed, numerous town formed at lock sites and boat travel along the route more than tripled. The War of 1812 rocked the American economy, but commerce along the Erie Canal helped at least in some way to repair the damage. The historical context and the engineering problems posed make for interesting reading. As always, I would have liked more maps and diagrams to show both the project’s path and the machines used. Other than that, though, the book was interesting, and in places, fun to read. ( )

Very interesting account of the making of the Erie Canal and its implication on American nation building and economy ( )

This book is divided into 5 sections - the vision, the action the creation, the path, the aftermath.
The first section of this book begins with identification of those people who believed that the expansion of the United States required the improvement of its waterways to allow for easier navigation from the Atlantic Coast to the interior. George Washington was interested in expanding the Potomac River usage (possibly because of his large Mount Vernon frontage on this river) and though there was a company founded to explore this possibility, it never came to fruition. Numerous others from Christopher Coles to Gouverneur Morris tried and failed in the attempts to get the project funded and started. Along with the proposed waterway expansion, this section also identified men who designed and improved the watercrafts that were to be used once this project was underway.
The second section addresses the funding and proposal. In 1807, President Jefferson, in his annual address to Congress, suggested that the government surplus of funds be directed to "canals, roads, education…" Congress commissioned the Treasury to submit a plan "to propose the opening of roads and making canals which as objects of public improvement, may require and deserve the aid of the government."
Albert Gallatin, the Secretary of the Treasury stressed in his report that for the volume of industry to increase with territorial expansion, a nationwide network of canals and roadways was essential for connections over the long distances. However, when the proposal was presented to the President requesting funds, Jefferson pointed to the Potomac (C&O Canal) and noted that it was unfinished for the last few miles but for a lack of $200,000 and New York wanted $10 million for a "350 mile canal through the wilderness - it is little short of madness". (Again an instance of Jefferson saying one thing and doing another.) New York resolved to proceed on its own.
Six New York commissioners undertook a 700 mile trek across the state in 53 days to gather the required details so that the NY legislature could be informed of what the project would entail. Several routes were under consideration -specifically one to Lake Ontario, the other to Lake Erie. Legislators frequently sided with the route that aided them either monetarily or politically. Finally, in March of 1811, the commissioners were authorized to arrange for funding, purchase the necessary land, and applied to Congress for additional funds. The project was on.
The War of 1812 had 2 effects on the Canal project. First, it delayed the progress because of the manpower that was routed to the war effort but two, it proved the need for a better communication and transportation system between the east coast and the western frontier. Only through rapid shipbuilding in Erie, PA was the access of the great lakes maintained by the US and not overtaken by the British.
After the war, legislatures both state and National held up the project until the official route of the canal was decided upon, and funding was in place.
Construction started on July 4, 1817 and as it progressed so did improvements to the construction process. Numerous inventions were found/discovered to speed the construction. Inventions for speeding the cutting down of trees, removal of tree stumps and even cement came with the construction of the canal.
In 1819, the nation suffered its first depression and thanks to the Canal project, NY state survived nearly unscathed. Unemployment, rampant elsewhere, was non-existent around the Canal construction, in fact employment was up 20%.
As the project progressed, political issues surrounded the finishing aspects - the location of the terminal on Lake Erie and how to handle a few of the final sections were just a few.
After the canal was completed, traffic increased in the first year from 2000 boats to 7000 boats. The time frame of traveling the distance from Albany to Buffalo was cut from 32 days to 5 days.
Weather caused some issues - the canal froze in winter and the spring rains caused flooding.
But towns sprung up overnight along the route and small villages turned into cities.
Farm productivity in western NY state and beyond expanded 30% by 1840 and eastern areas turned to dairy farming.
But the main impact of the Erie canal was the unification of the nation by the connection of the western areas to the eastern seaboard. Areas in the west could now ship their goods all the way to New York while receiving luxury items from the east that had not been available before.
This book was very informative but has a few drawbacks. At times it was very detailed in the descriptions of the building of the canal. For non-technical readers this would have been aided by drawings to help visualize what was being described. The writer also had a tendency at times to inappropriately report on the far future of NY state and how the Erie Canal was continuing, making the tale somewhat disjointed at these parts. Overall a very good book for background reading to this timeframe of US history. ( )

A superb, comprehensive, well-detailed history of the planning and building of the Erie Canal. Begun at a time (1817) when there was not one professional civil engineer in the U.S., the canal's proponents overcame Washington's indifference, immense physical challenges, and roiling New York State politics to build their water highway. By cutting nine tenths of the time and expense of moving goods from the Midwest to Atlantic seaports, the Canal made the economic development of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys possible. It also catapulted New York State into an eminent position in the Union, having abjured federal help; pushed New York City into world-class status; made Chicago the second-most important city in the U.S.; served as a model for federal funding of the Civil War; and vaulted America into the limelight as a world power. Not bad for a serviceable little ditch.

Bernstein weaves a fascinating tale of the indomitable political will it took to even sell the idea to the bond-buying public. The story includes the stunning ingenuity of the men responsible for the work, and it's all placed perfectly in the context of the canal-crazy era. This is wonderful - not to be missed.

http://bassoprofundo1.blogspot.com/2010/06/wedding-of-waters-erie-canal-and-maki... ( )

(Book 17 in the 2005 Book Challenge)

This was, believe it or not, excellent. Very nearly a page turner, but I did already know how the story ends. I liked this because Mr. Bernstein did a great job of focusing on the economic climate during the planning of the canal, and then the economic effects of building it. Let's keep in mind here that I can't even balance my checkbook, so I need economic concepts dealt with slowly and with great clarity. This book probably had the highest ratio of economics to enjoyment of any book I have ever read. Plus, it's amazing to realize that the people who were building the canal were more or less making up the engineering stuff as they went along.

Grade: A-
Recommended: To NY State history geeks, people who like canals, people who like early 19th century history.