Effects of the Erie Canal

You decide to sell your small farm in New Hampshire and move to Ohio. Both you and your neighbors plan to travel there on the Erie Canal. How would you categorize this effect of the canal? Pick the BEST option.

• Social

• Economic

• Geographic

You are a farmer. The Erie Canal was built through the middle of your largest field. To make it easier to reach your field on the other side of the canal, you build a bridge. Now you can get to your field again and make money by charging a toll for people to use your bridge! How would you categorize this effect of the canal?

• Economic

• Geographic

• Social

You are a merchant who receives wheat from the Great Lakes region and then ships it to Europe. In the last eight years, the amount of wheat going east has grown from 4,000 to 500,000 bushels per year. Business is very good. How would you categorize this effect of the canal?

• Social

• Geographic

• Economic

You share the canal boat with many other passengers. It is crowded, but you know the journey would take MUCH longer if you traveled by land in a horse-drawn wagon. How would you categorize this effect of the canal?

• Economic

• Social

• Geographic

You have decided to sell some of your land to people who want to settle near the Erie Canal. Your land has excellent soil for growing grains or fruit trees. Your asking price is a reasonable $5.00 per acre. You have sold 20 acres of land so far, and hope to sell much more! How would you categorize this effect of the canal? Pick the BEST option.

• Geographic

• Economic

• Social

You are a merchant in Syracuse, NY. You ship salt (used to cure meat) on the Erie Canal. Syracuse has become a large industrial center. The new industry has polluted many nearby lakes, but profits are up. How would you categorize this effect of the canal?

• Ecomomic

• Social

• Geographic

Your trip will be long and boring. You will reach Lake Erie after 363 miles and 83 days. Thousands of boats and barges use the Erie Canal each year. A huge workforce of men and draft animals work on the canal. How would you categorize this effect of the canal?

• Economic

• Geographic

• Social

The Erie Canal has a smaller feeder canal. When the feeder canal freezes, the main road into town floods. Residents of your town want the state of New York to pay for moving the feeder canal to a different location. How would you categorize this effect of the canal? Pick the BEST option.

• Economic

• Social

• Geographic

To pass the time during your journey, you often play games such as cards with others on the boat. When the boat stops at a town along the canal, you sometimes go ashore for a visit. Today, you plan to go fishing. How would you categorize this effect of the canal?

• Social

• Economic

• Geographic

You are an Irishman who helped to build the Erie Canal. It was very difficult work, digging through rock and dirt with picks and shovels. Sometimes you dig through solid rock or have to cut down trees (without permission). You quit this job after one month, then settle in one of the lock towns. How would you categorize this effect of the canal?

• Geographic

• Economic

• Social