Social set up and diversification of culture is greatly influenced by interaction of people from different cultural backgrounds. As a result, such interactions bring about borrowing and sharing of one’s culture orientation. This aspect has been there to date and dates many years back since people started to associate with different communities with diverse cultures. This paper will thus look at social and cultural effects of Erie Canal by looking the trend and how it influenced the culture of people along the canal.
Erie Canal was opened in 1825 through the work of marvel engineering of 19th century. The planning which was later referred to Clintons folly began, it is notable that there lacked a single engineering school in the United States. Before the opening of the canal, movement and transport of commodities was greatly hampered by poor road network, leading to massive loses and higher transportation costs. It was terrible during winter season which made road impassable with witnessed delays to transport the precious commodities, making it even hard to get some of commodities.
The advent of Erie Canal saw the transformation of social, economic and cultural aspects. It spurred the first greatest westward movement of the American settlers in the century. The social impact of the canal saw a transformed society which enhanced their income through a number of economic activities that mushroomed. Hotels, shops, currency exchange was rampant among other necessity services. These activities started immediately the construction of the canal started. The laborers, who compromised majority of Irish, could integrate their culture with residents, leading to culture diversity in the region. The Erie Canal enhanced immigration, thereby providing for an avenue for people from different cultural orientation to interact and exchange notes. The mushrooming of many and diversified business meant an increased income. With money and good source of income, lifestyle and way of living changed. People could afford to comfortable afford basic and tertiary necessities without much struggle. Along the canal, many businesses were opened and these people were able to interact and associate with people from different cultures, thereby learning different cultures of the people who frequently used the canal. Churches and even prostitution was some of the aftermath of the canal among other trades that sprout up. Transport via the canal gained major boost as it was cheaper compared to other forms of transport (Hawthorne, n.d).
The completion and use of the canal resulted in huge export of wheat to Britain and Europe. US also enhanced her trade with Canada, leading to increased revenue to both countries. Such interaction made it possible for immigration across the countries. Such immigration assisted in integration of cultures and social change within the communities affected. To date, Erie Canal remains a tourist attraction site from tourist from all over the world. In this regard, it is true to say that culture and social interaction continues to take place despite the fact that it was built many years back (Hawthorne, n.d).
The Erie Canal was mainly focused on transportation of agricultural products and manufactured goods to the market. The routes could also have been used to transport items like fuel, people and non perishable goods. In other words, the routes could have been utilized more by transporting other items in addition to agricultural products. An efficient mode of transport contributes to economic gains by delivering goods and services on time. With such systems in place, skills and knowledge and be effectively shared across many countries, leading to job opportunities and a spurt of growth.
In a nutshell, Erie Canal brought transformation to cities like Buffalo and other cities that benefited enormously from the economic and social change it brought. The culture diffusion was real and this made people affected to be more knowledgeable and informed on ways of living for other communities. Apart from business, it led up to innovation of a bigger canal that is in place to date. Tourist attraction has gained the country economic growth since Erie Canal has remained a major tourist attraction site.
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