Many Voices: Building Erie, The Canal That Changed America

Gr 5 Up–A social history for young people that seeks to explain the complex interplay of political, technological, cultural, and economic forces that culminated in the creation of the Erie Canal. The canal connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes opened in 1825 after almost a decade of construction and a cost of $7,000,000 ($185 million in today’s terms). Lawlor situates the canal in the geopolitical and social factors that contributed to its development, reveals the extraordinary costs in human, natural, and technological resources that made the 363 mile–long waterway a reality, and illustrates the far-ranging repercussions that the canal has had on individual lives and on American society over the last 200 years. Her narrative stays true to the goal encapsulated in the title, that of centering the voices of the many Indigenous, enslaved, and immigrant peoples who experienced profound loss and change from this marvel of engineering and economic progress. The final chapters give some consideration to the ecological implications of the canal and the industrialization that sprang up in the wake of its creation. An extensive bibliography for further reading rounds out the narrative, as well as source notes, a glossary, a time line, and an index.