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To compare is to tell how 2 things are alike.
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To contrast is
to tell how 2 things are different. |
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When you read,
you can compare and contrast information from two sources to see
what is alike and different. |
Let's look at two
articles about the Erie Canal.
Opened in 1825, the Erie Canal
was the engineering marvel of the 19th Century. When the
planning for what many derided as “Clinton's Folly” began, there was not a
single school of
engineering in the United States. Then - New York Governor DeWitt
Clinton envisioned a
better way: a Canal from Buffalo on the eastern shore of Lake Erie to
Albany on the upper
Hudson River, a distance of almost 400 miles.
In 1817, Clinton convinced the
State legislature to authorize $7 million for construction of a
Canal 363 miles long, 40 feet wide and four feet deep.
In 1825, Governor Dewitt
Clinton officially opened the Erie Canal as he sailed the packet
boat
Seneca Chief along the Canal from Buffalo to Albany. After traveling from
the mouth of the
Erie to New York City, he emptied two casks of water from Lake Erie into
the Atlantic Ocean,
celebrating the first connection of waters from East to West in the
ceremonial "Marriage of the
Waters". *
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It is a long way from Lake Erie
to the Hudson River - about 360 miles. Some people thought it
would be impossible to build a canal that long. After all, the land had to
be cleared of thousands
of huge trees and flattened. Then a channel wide and deep enough for a
boat to travel would
have to be dug. It would cost at least $7 million to dig the canal. Many
people made fun of the
idea. They began calling it "Clinton's Ditch".
The Erie Canal was finally
finished in the fall of 1825. A boat named the Seneca Chief left
Buffalo on October 26, 1825. Governor Clinton was aboard. The boat carried
two barrels of
water from Lake Erie. The Seneca Chief reached New York Harbor on November
4. Clinton
poured the water from Lake Erie into the Atlantic Ocean to represent the
new link between the
East and the West. This was called the "Wedding of the Waters." **
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Lets' compare and contrast
the information on the Erie Canal.
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Compare
Alike |
Contrast
Different |
| Erie Canal
cost $7 million. |
First
article referred to "Clinton's Folly"
while the other called it "Clinton's Ditch". |
| Erie Canal
was completed in 1825. |
First
article called in the "Marriage of
the Waters", while the other called it
"Wedding of the Waters". |
Governor
Clinton rode on the Seneca
Chief. |
First
article referred to two casks of
water, while the other said two barrels
of water. |
Erie Canal
connected Lake Erie to the
Hudson River. |
First article
said 363 miles, while the
other said 360 miles. |
 Remember: |
To compare and contrast, find what is alike and different. |
Click on the apple for
practice.
*
http://www.nyscanals.gov/cculture/history/index.html
** New York Adventures in Time and Place, 2001 McGraw-Hill, New York,
pg.168-170.
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