The Erie Canal

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The Erie Canal

• The Ditch that made New York
• By Jamie Lynn Bates

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The Erie CanalBy William S. Allen
I've got an old mule and her name is SalFifteen
miles on the Erie CanalShe's a good old worker
and a good old palFifteen miles on the Erie
Canal We've hauled some barges in our dayFilled
with lumber, coal, and hayAnd every inch of the
way we knowFrom Albany to Buffalo Low bridge,
everybody downLow bridge for we're coming to a
townAnd you'll always know your neighborAnd
you'll always know your palIf you've ever
navigated onThe Erie Canal We'd better get
along on our way, old galFifteen miles on the
Erie Canal'Cause you bet your life I'd never
part with SalFifteen miles on the Erie Canal
Git up there mule, here comes a lockWe'll make
Rome 'bout six o'clockOne more trip and back
we'll goRight back home to Buffalo Low bridge,
everybody downLow bridge for we're coming to a
townAnd you'll always know your neighborAnd
you'll always know your palIf you've ever
navigated onThe Erie Canal

• What is this song about?
• What do you think mules
• were used for?

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Vocabulary

• Canal A Canal is a man made channel of
  water. Canals can connect natural bodies
  of water such as rivers and lakes.
• Navigate To operate a boat or ship.
• Channel A waterway that can be natural
• or man made.
• Locks A section of canal or river that may be
  closed off by gates to control the water level
  to enable the raising and lowering of boats
  that pass through it.

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What is a Canal?

• A Canal is a manmade channel of water. Canals
  can connect natural bodies of water such as
  rivers and lakes.
• The oldest canal in world is 1,000 miles long
  and is located in China.
• What can a canal be used for?
• Can you think of another canal?

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How is a canal used?

• Canals are used for transporting people and
  goods.

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Where in the World is the Erie Canal?

• The Erie Canal is located in the United States,
  in the state of New York.

New York
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Back to the FutureHow did this all start?
Connect Four! The Erie Canal was created to
connect four waterways The Lake Erie, Lake
Champlain, the Oswego Canal, and the
Cayuga-Seneca Canal.
This map represents New York as it Existed at
the Erie Canals opening.
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A Wrinkle in Time

• 1699 French Engineer Vauban suggests
  canal between Lake Erie Ontario.
• 1724 -1791 Several proposals for a canal are
  submitted.
• 1792 A private firm builds locks to bypass
  Little Falls. First locks built in U.S.
• 1797 February 5 A letter from Robert Fulton
  to President Washington
  referring to potential canal improvements,
  including a canal to Lake Erie.

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A Wrinkle in Time

• 1798 Niagara Canal Company incorporated to
  build a canal between Lake Ontario and Lake
  Erie.
• 1808 Report of the Secretary of the Treasury on
  the subject of Public Roads and Canals made in
  pursuance of a resolution of the Senate
• on March 2, 1807 by Albert Gallatin.
• 1816 February 16, Memorial of the Citizens of
  New York, in Favour of a Canal Navigation
  between the Great Western Lakes and the
  Tide-waters of the Hudson. Drafted by De Witt
  Clinton and signed by many citizens, it made
  a deep impression on the Legislature. April
  17, NY Legislature passes
• a canal law.
• 1817 July 4, Canal construction began at Rome,
  NY.

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A Wrinkle in Time

• 1825 October 26, the first passage through
  canal from Lake Erie to New York City. 363
  Miles in length, 40 feet wide, 4 feet deep,
  max displacement 75 tons 77 locks, 90 feet by
  15 feet total lockage 655 feet.
• 2004 The Erie
  Canal is still used for transporting goods.

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Can you tell which cities are on the Erie Canal?

• Albany Schenectady
• Rochester Lockport
• Buffalo Canjoharie
• Rome Utica

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The Marriage of the Waters

• This painting is of Dewitt Clinton on the Erie
  Canal.
• Which man is he?
• What do you think this painting is showing?

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Why are there so many cities on the Erie Canal?

• Cities form near waterways.
• What are canals or waterways used for?
• Can you think of a city in Georgia that is near a
  canal or other waterway?

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Did you know?

• Workers that helped build the Erie Canal worked
  on the Augusta Canal when they were finished in
  New York.
• Other workers consisted of free African Americans
  as well as Chinese workers that had just finished
  the Transcontinental Railroad.

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