| Read this passage about transportation in New York.
Complete the chart comparing trade and towns in New York before the
canal was built to trade and towns after the canal was built.
Transportation in New
York improved during the 1800s. The Erie Canal was one
improvement in transportation. Work on the Erie Canal began in
1817. The canal was completed 8 years later. 13,000
boats traveled on the canal in the first year. The canal was a
big success. While the trip between Buffalo and New York took
20 days before the canal was finished, that same trip took only 8
days on the canal.
Goods shipped over land
cost $100 a ton before the canal was built. The same amount of
goods could be shipped on the canal for only $10. This led to
increased trade along the route of the canal. Lumber and wheat
could be shipped east and, in turn, products from the east could be
shipped to settlers in the western part of New York.
The increase in trade led to
the growth of cities along the canal route. In 1825 when the
canal opened, Buffalo had a population of about 2,400 people.
That population grew to 10,000 in just 6 years. Rochester had
a population of only 331 in 1815, but by 1827 the population had
grown to 8,000.
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