20. The Erie Canal was the first important national waterway built in the US. It crossed New York State (州) from Buffalo on Lake Eric to Albany on the Hudson River. It joined the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean.
Over the canal industrial goods (工业产品) could flow into the west, and materials could pour into the east. The Erie Canal helped New York develop into the nation's larges city.
The building of the canal was paid for completely by the state of New York. It cost 7, 143, 789, but it soon gained its pricemany times over. Between1825, when the canal was opened, and1882, when toll charges (过运河费) were stopped, the state collected 121, 461, 891.
For a hundred years before the Erie Canal was built, people had been talking about a canal to join the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. The man who planned the Erie Canal and carried the plan through was De Witt Clinton. At that time some people laughingly called it "Clinton's Ditch (沟)". Clinton talked and wrote about the canal and drew up plans for it. He and Governor Morris went to Washington in 1812 to ask for help for the canal, but they were unsuccessful.
Clinton became governor of New York State in 1817, and shortly afterwards, on July 4, 1817, broke ground for the canal in Rome of New York State. The first part of the canal was completed in 1820. As the canal grew, towns along its course developed fast. The length of the canal is 363 miles.