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Article: Measuring the Erie Canal. (Where in the World?).(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Appleseeds
- Article date:
- January 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Today, you can fly from Buffalo, New York, to New York City in about 70 minutes. You can drive it in about 7 hours. But 200 years ago, there wasn't a city where Buffalo is located now. And a trip from the shores of Lake Erie might have taken months. In fact, it would have seemed like an impossible journey--across mountains, through forests, along rivers.
From the days when the United States was young, Americans dreamed of how to make that journey happen. People such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson talked about it. "How could the new nation expand to the west," they wondered. Traveling on water would be the easiest way. New York's governor, De Witt ...