Erie Water West: A History of the Erie Canal, 1792-1854

Contents

Contents Preface page vii I. The Prophecy 1. Up the Mohawk to the West 3 2. Jesse Hawley's "Genesee Canal" 22 3. Survey and Report 38 4. From Prophecy into Law 56 II. The Grand Canal 5. Forty Feet Wide and Four Feet Deep 84 6. The Politics of Construction 101 7. The Canal Comes West 123 8. Black Rock or Buffalo 140 9. The Politics of Removal 164 10. The Wedding of the Waters 181 III. On Erie Water 11. Packets, Freighters, and Canallers 197 12. Pure and Wholesome Water 219 xii Contents 13. The State Runs a Canal 14. The Trade of the "Teeming West" 15. "Commerce Is King" IV. Politics and Nationalism 236 260 279 16. The "Forty Million Debt," 1835-1841 303 17. The Democratic Stop Policy, 1842-1846 330 18. The Canal Goes On, 1847-1854 361 19. A Canal for the Nation 397 Essay on Bibliography 419 Index 433 Illustrations follow page 292 ...