Wedding Of The Waters The Erie Canal And The Making Of A Great Nation

Author : Peter L. Bernstein
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 0393340201
Total Pages : 448 pages
Book Rating : 4.04/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Wedding of the Waters: The Erie Canal and the Making of a Great Nation written by Peter L. Bernstein and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2010-08-16 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Bestseller The epic account of how one narrow ribbon of water forever changed the course of American history. The history of the Erie Canal is a riveting story of American ingenuity. A great project that Thomas Jefferson judged to be “little short of madness,” and that others compared with going to the moon, soon turned into one of the most successful and influential public investments in American history. In Wedding of the Waters, best-selling author Peter L. Bernstein recounts the canal’s creation within the larger tableau of a youthful America in the first quarter-century of the 1800s. Leaders of the fledgling nation had quickly recognized that the Appalachian mountain range was a formidable obstacle to uniting the Atlantic states with the vast lands of the west. A pathway for commerce as well as travel was critical to the security and expansion of the Revolution’s unprecedented achievement. Gripped by the same fever that had driven explorers such as Hudson and Champlain, a motley assortment of politicians, surveyors, and would-be engineers set out to build a complex structure of a type few of them had ever actually seen, let alone built or operated: a manmade waterway cut through the mountains to traverse the 363 miles between Lake Erie and the Hudson River. By linking the seas to the interior and the interior to the seas, these pioneers ultimately connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. Bernstein examines the social ramifications, political squabbles, and economic risks and returns of this mammoth project. He goes on to demonstrate how the canal’s creation helped bind the western settlers in the new lands to their fellow Americans in the original colonies, knitted the sinews of the American industrial revolution, and even influenced profound economic change in Europe. Featuring a rich cast of characters that includes political visionaries like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Martin van Buren; the canal’s most powerful champions, Governor DeWitt Clinton and Gouverneur Morris; and a huge platoon of Irish and American diggers, Wedding of the Waters reveals that the twenty-first-century themes of urbanization, economic growth, and globalization can all be traced to the first great macroengineering venture of American history.

Author : David Stradling
Publisher : Cornell University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780801445101
Total Pages : 312 pages
Book Rating : 4.08/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book The Nature of New York written by David Stradling and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stradling shows how New York's varied landscape and abundant natural resources have played a fundamental role in shaping the state's culture and economy.

Author : Deborah Williams
Publisher : The Countryman Press
ISBN 13 : 1581579195
Total Pages : 323 pages
Book Rating : 4.92/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Explorer's Guide Erie Canal: A Great Destination: Exploring New York's Great Canals written by Deborah Williams and published by The Countryman Press. This book was released on 2009-06-01 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Erie Canal: Great Destinations is the first comprehensive travel guide to New York State Canals and the communities and attractions found along them. Each chapter covers one canal, providing historical background as well as information on wineries, canal museums, restaurants, lodging, canal cruises and bike paths in all the major cities, many of the small towns and villages, and the two biggest Finger Lakes. The guide offers separate sections on Buffalo, Albany, Syracuse, Utica, and Rochester and their outlying areas, as well as a chapter on Niagara Falls. With coverage of three smaller canals in the region (the Oswego, Champlain, and Cayuga-Seneca) this is undoubtedly the most extensive guide to the canalways of the state.

Author : Andrew F. Smith
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780231140928
Total Pages : 398 pages
Book Rating : 4.24/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Eating History written by Andrew F. Smith and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prologue -- Oliver Evans's automated mill -- The Erie Canal -- Delmonico's -- Sylvester Graham's reforms -- Cyrus McCormick's reaper -- A multiethnic smorgasbord -- Giving thanks -- Gail Borden's canned milk -- The homogenizing war -- The transcontinental railroad -- Fair food -- Henry Crowell's Quaker special -- Wilbur O. Atwater's calorimeter -- The Cracker Jack snack -- Fannie Farmer's cookbook -- The Kelloggs' corn flakes -- Upton Sinclair's Jungle -- Frozen seafood and TV dinners -- Michael Cullen's super market -- Earle MacAusland's Gourmet -- Jerome I. Rodale's Organic gardening -- Percy Spencer's radar -- Frances Roth and Katharine Angell's CIA -- McDonald's drive-in -- Julia Child, the French chef -- Jean Nidetch's diet -- Alice Waters's Chez Panisse -- TVFN -- The Flavr Savr -- Mergers, acquisitions, and spin-offs -- Epilogue.

Author : Parks & Trails New York
Publisher : Parks & Trails New York
ISBN 13 : 1438485271
Total Pages : 162 pages
Book Rating : 4.70/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Cycling the Erie Canal, Fifth Edition written by Parks & Trails New York and published by Parks & Trails New York. This book was released on 2021-03-01 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Erie Canalway Trail is a cycling destination for riders of all abilities. Following one of the world's most famous manmade waterways, it spans New York State between Albany and Buffalo. Whether enjoying a leisurely ride from one village to another, or spending a week completing the entire 360 miles, the Erie Canalway Trail offers endless adventures exploring the charming towns, living history, scenic beauty, and cultural attractions of New York State. The trail route follows both active and historic sections of the Erie Canal. For several decades now, state and local governments have been transforming the old towpath and abandoned rail corridor into a 360-mile multi-use pathway. The guidebook is designed primarily for use by bicyclists, but it is also useful for those planning to enjoy the trail on foot, travelling the canal system by boat, or visiting the Canal corridor's many sites by car. The fifth edition includes information on the statewide 750-mile Empire State Trail, which the Erie Canalway Trail is now part of; updated maps, trail routing, and surface conditions; and an updated, comprehensive listing of attractions, historic sites, visitor centers, public transportation options, easily accessible lodging, bike shops, parking, and other services. This guide is an indispensable resource for dedicated cyclists planning to bike across the state or the casual rider looking to take the family out for a couple of hours.

Author : Bhu Srinivasan
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0399563806
Total Pages : 576 pages
Book Rating : 4.05/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Americana written by Bhu Srinivasan and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-09-26 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An absorbing and original narrative history of American capitalism NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2017 BY THE ECONOMIST From the days of the Mayflower and the Virginia Company, America has been a place for people to dream, invent, build, tinker, and bet the farm in pursuit of a better life. Americana takes us on a four-hundred-year journey of this spirit of innovation and ambition through a series of Next Big Things -- the inventions, techniques, and industries that drove American history forward: from the telegraph, the railroad, guns, radio, and banking to flight, suburbia, and sneakers, culminating with the Internet and mobile technology at the turn of the twenty-first century. The result is a thrilling alternative history of modern America that reframes events, trends, and people we thought we knew through the prism of the value that, for better or for worse, this nation holds dearest: capitalism. In a winning, accessible style, Bhu Srinivasan boldly takes on four centuries of American enterprise, revealing the unexpected connections that link them. We learn how Andrew Carnegie's early job as a telegraph messenger boy paved the way for his leadership of the steel empire that would make him one of the nation's richest men; how the gunmaker Remington reinvented itself in the postwar years to sell typewriters; how the inner workings of the Mafia mirrored the trend of consolidation and regulation in more traditional business; and how a 1950s infrastructure bill triggered a series of events that produced one of America's most enduring brands: KFC. Reliving the heady early days of Silicon Valley, we are reminded that the start-up is an idea as old as America itself. Entertaining, eye-opening, and sweeping in its reach, Americana is an exhilarating new work of narrative history.

Author : Kenna Lang Archer
Publisher : UNM Press
ISBN 13 : 0826355889
Total Pages : 296 pages
Book Rating : 4.81/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Unruly Waters written by Kenna Lang Archer and published by UNM Press. This book was released on 2015-05-01 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Running more than 1,200 miles from headwaters in eastern New Mexico through the middle of Texas to the Gulf of Mexico, the Brazos River has frustrated developers for nearly two centuries. This environmental history of the Brazos traces the techniques that engineers and politicians have repeatedly used to try to manage its flow. The vast majority of projects proposed or constructed in this watershed were failures, undone by the geology of the river as much as the cost of improvement. When developers erected locks, the river changed course. When they built large-scale dams, floodwaters overflowed the concrete rims. When they constructed levees, the soils collapsed. Yet lawmakers and laypeople, boosters and engineers continued to work toward improving the river and harnessing it for various uses. Through the plight of the Brazos River Archer illuminates the broader commentary on the efforts to tame this nation’s rivers as well as its historical perspectives on development and technology. The struggle to overcome nature, Archer notes, reflects a quintessentially American faith in technology.

Author : Lara Sahgal
Publisher : The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
ISBN 13 : 149943510X
Total Pages : 64 pages
Book Rating : 4.08/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book A Primary Source Investigation of the Erie Canal written by Lara Sahgal and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2015-07-15 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Snaking its way through 363 miles of upstate New York, the original Erie Canal was the most massive public works project the United States had seen before the Civil War. Many doubted that such a grand waterway could be constructed, but upon its completion, it almost instantly became an enduring national symbol of American ingenuity. This volume relates the captivating story of the Erie Canal, chronicling how some dedicated political figures and surveyors-turned-engineers helped make one of the earliest American engineering marvels a reality. Primary source documents provide historical context, showing how the Erie Canal transformed the greater American landscape.

Author : Tim McNeese
Publisher : Infobase Publishing
ISBN 13 : 143811981X
Total Pages : 141 pages
Book Rating : 4.16/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book The Erie Canal written by Tim McNeese and published by Infobase Publishing. This book was released on 2009 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When it was completed in 1825, the Erie Canal caused a great sensation. Though plans for an artificial waterway to link the Great Lakes with the eastern seaboard were underway as early as 1783, supporters of the project experienced difficulties in finding federal funding. With New York State footing the bill, construction finally began on the canal on July 4, 1817, following the inauguration of DeWitt Clinton, the canal's biggest advocate, as governor of New York. The Erie Canal's completion brought an increase in goods and capital to New York, surpassed Boston and Philadelphia as the leading financial and commercial center in the nation. For many years, the Erie Canal served as the chief traffic artery for both passengers and freight, and the population increased in large numbers throughout the state. However, the middle of 19th century brought steady competition from the railroads, and the canal's commercial importance was greatly reduced. Today, the Erie Canal is a branch of the New York State Canal System and is considered a relatively minor commercial waterway. In The Erie Canal: Linking the Great Lakes, read how this manmade waterway that extends from Lake Erie in Buffalo, New York, to the Hudson River in Albany helped shape the future of the Empire State.

Author : Kenneth J. Blume
Publisher : Scarecrow Press
ISBN 13 : 0810879638
Total Pages : 614 pages
Book Rating : 4.38/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Maritime Industry written by Kenneth J. Blume and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2011-12-22 with total page 614 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Maritime Industry, author Kenneth J. Blume provides a convenient survey of this important industry from the colonial period to the present day: from sail to steam to nuclear power. This concise new reference work captures the key features of overseas, coastal, lake, and river shipping and industry. An introduction provides an overview of the industry while the dictionary itself contains more than four hundred cross-referenced entries on ships, shipping companies, famous personalities, and major ports. A number of appendixes, including statistics on foreign trade, maritime disasters, famous ships, and major ports, supplement the dictionary, and a comprehensive bibliography leads the researcher to further sources.