The Erie Canal

American History Hit

History Hit

America, History

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2023

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. Alice Shay tells Don how ‘the Nation’s First Superhighway’ accelerated the westward expansion of the United States, carrying goods, people, wealth and prosperity along it. Until the railroad came along, able to carry a lot more, a lot faster, rendering the canal obsolete. Though it remains used and loved by many still today.

Produced by Benjie Guy. Mixed by Joseph Knight. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I've got a no mule and a name is now
0:08.2	I've got a no mule and a name is Sal
0:11.7	15 years on the Erie Canal.
0:14.3	She's a good old worker and a good old pal.
0:17.6	15 years on the Erie Canal.
0:20.8	Edward Meeker sings the Erie Canal song back in 1913.
0:25.0	It's a traditional tune millions of American school children still learn and sing and will always remember. The song recalls the days when
0:45.0	the days when teams of mules drew boats laden with grain and goods
0:50.0	the length of the canal from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, connecting the east
0:54.7	with a fertile vastness of the American Midwest.
0:57.7	For decades after its opening in 1821, the Erie Canal fostered prosperous settlements along its route through upstate New York.
1:04.4	That is until the Industrial Revolution roared onward and cheaper more efficient railroads
1:10.0	finally made the canal obsolete. Low bridge, everybody down.
1:15.0	Low bridge, you got the finest fuel in town. Greetings I'm Don Wildman.
1:27.0	I'm Don Wildman.
1:30.0	And this is American History Hit.
1:31.0	Thanks for joining us.
1:32.0	History is more often than not a long and this is American History Hit. Thanks for joining us.
1:32.6	History is more often than not a long and gradual series of developments,
1:37.1	a record of events over time,
1:39.1	moving through multiple iterations and stages.
1:42.2	Rare is that historic phenomenon that changes everything in one fell swoop.
	...

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