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Key
Themes to explore for Illinois History Fair Projects
Westward Expansion (Connecting
the Continent): The I&M Canal was the last major shipping
canal constructed in the United States. The success of the Erie
Canal, opened in 1825, ushered in the Canal Era in United States
History. Other states realized the potential of canals to link
widely separated regions of the United States. The I&M Canal
served as the final link in a national plan designed to connect
different regions of the North American continent via waterways.
Linking the waters of the Illinois River (and ultimately the
Mississippi River) with those of Lake Michigan, it created a
water route between the metropolitan capitals of the Eastern
United States, the Southern port of New Orleans, and the
agricultural heartland of the Northwest. Chicago, then the
western frontier of the country, was soon transformed into the
Gateway of the American West.
Transportation: The opening
of the I&M Canal heralded a new era in trade and travel for the
entire nation by offering travelers an all water route from New
York City to Chicago, St. Louis, and even to New Orleans. This
“water highway” provided a mud and dust-free alternative to
overland travel and expedited travel times. Freight could now go
from St. Louis to New York in twelve days via the I&M Canal and
the Great Lakes, where the previous route along the Ohio River
could take thirty to forty days. The costs for transferring
these goods, particularly grain, lumber, and merchandise,
between the Midwestern prairies and the Eastern cities was
radically reduced. New goods from the southern United States,
including sugar, salt, molasses, tobacco, and oranges, were
shipped to Chicago for the first time. During the Civil War, the
I&M Canal reached its peak in terms of profitability and,
despite the competition provided by railroads, continued to be
an important means of transporting grain, lumber, coal, and
other bulk commodities. It also served to regulate railroad
freight at a time when railroad monopolies were being denounced,
and was considered a more democratic form of commerce, as anyone
with a registered canal boat could become part of the
transportation network.
Immigration: Even before
construction began, the I&M Canal was already making an imprint
in the social geography and community of the American West.
Early recruitment efforts for laborers enriched the ethnic mix
of the region as many Irish, Swedish, Norwegian, and German
immigrants arrived to help dig the canal. The large influx of
I&M Canal workers resulted in Chicago’s first “suburban”
settlement, Bridgeport, and many other ethnic communities along
the I&M Canal Corridor’s expanse. After the canal’s completion,
reduced travel times precipitated a dramatic change in the
movement of European immigrants. The new network of waterway
transportation facilitated the last leg of many immigrants’
journeys; from the industrialized East, to the frontier West, to
the burgeoning South. During the California Gold Rush, many
immigrants utilized I&M Canal passenger boats as a quick means
of travel on their journey west.
Rise of Chicago: Although the
I&M Canal enjoyed only five years free of railroad competition,
these years were absolutely critical in launching Chicago on its
path to urban greatness. Before the canal, Chicago and its
surrounding areas offered great potential, but were hindered by
inadequate transportation routes. Chicago was established as a
center of commerce and industry only after the I&M Canal made
possible the movement of products and people from the Great
Lakes to the Illinois/Mississippi Rivers. Beyond Chicago’s city
limits, the canal created a dozen other towns and settlements
along its banks. These communities would soon industrialize,
and, with the benefit of Chicago’s newly acquired status as a
national transportation center, consolidate to form the western
end of the American Manufacturing Belt in northern Illinois.
While many historians have given the railroads credit for
Chicago’s meteoric rise in the 19th Century, Chicago’s days as a
national transportation hub began with the I&M Canal. |
