Carol Sheriff, The Artificial River: The Erie Canal and the Paradox of Progress, 1817-

1862 (New York, 1997).

The Artificial River traces the ways in which the citizens of New York took one of the
extraordinary achievements of the young republic and rendered it- along with the
culture it helped create- ordinary.(8)

Sheriff’s thesis is: The artificial river uses the Erie Canal region as a microcosm in
which to explore the relationships between some of the antebellum era’s important
transformations: widespread geographic mobility; rapid environmental change;
government intervention in economic development; market expansion; the
reorganization of work; and moral reform.(5)

Before the canal, citizens of western New York could not get fresh oysters, because
they would spoil with the long transit times. Sheriff tells that with the ability of
faster transport of goods allowed citizens to enjoy fresh oysters as far west as
Buffalo, something that previously had never been feasible.

The Erie Canal was a sign of the times, and Sheriff uses it to explain the social
relationships of Antebellum New York. Sheriff uses many primary sources including,
memoirs, letters, and court documents to explain and analyze these relationship.

Citizens of the affected area of the canal is Sheriff finds, were not simply going to let
the canal reshaped their lives. Number seven. Sheriff was able to use the
complaints and petitions that were received by the canal board to help explain how
contemporaries were thinking in regards to the canal.

The canal was really needed by this Nation to be financially successful the canal
opened up a land that had been previously inaccessible due to the expensive cost of
transportation. That cost made goods from Western New York uncompetitive in the
eastern markets.

Sheriff divides the book into sections first describing the ability by this young nation
to build something as large, lasting and most importantly useful to the early
economy. How visions of progress differed between Constituencies.

The Politics of building such as large project and the large number of citizens it
would effect.

All seem to celebrate the completion of the Erie Canal between Buffalo and Albany
in 1825. But Sheriff highlights that some were not as happy as others but all
seemed to feel like this was the future.

How building such a large project influenced the business aspect of the canal, its
most important user.
The canal was not a one way transport method as much as it helped farmers and
businessmen get goods from the mostly agricultural West to ports in the East and
even as far as England. The Artificial River also helped modernize the people of the
West by sending manufactured goods westbound. Also it brought the ability for
people from the east of the state to come view such chores attractions as Niagara
Falls and the Finger Lakes areas. Interestingly, many people simply wanted to see
this modern engineering marvel. They wanted to see how the locks in Lockport
worked. Because the canal was much more comfortable than the previous Stage
Coach’s, people went to see Niagara Falls.

Sheriff investigates extensively the relationship between the individual and the
State and Federal government. What was the responsibly for the government to
help the individual? Early in the project it was seen that the Federal government
would not be helping financially to the project. This still left the State to help
individuals and communities, but would be making precedent in the early years of
the republic.

It is interesting how in the early construction of the Canal, the New York State
attempted to address the grievances of the farmers, businessmen and communities.

At first the relationship with the New York State was good, yet by the late 1830’s the
individuals and communities “began to distrust the state in a world of competing
interest the state seemed more often an adversary then an ally”(pg 109). But at
first, this relationship show’s that individuals and communities did view the State as
an ally.

The early canal had troubles from the locks not correctly working to the rights of the
run-off water, but they were eventually resolved. These shortcomings would pale in
the face of the problem no one could fix, the bitterly cold winter which left the canal
closed for months, many times with boats still stuck wherever they stopped.

Sheriff shows that the Canal brought a lot of desirable things, yet it also brought
undesirable items to these small communities along the Canal. The Canal spurred
development along its banks, it gave farmers access to Markets that were
previously inaccessible. Farmers that grew food stocks that were time sensitive
were now able to get them to market before they might spoil.

But with this new found “Progress” came the canal workers, from the men who
cleared and dug to the Drivers, Captains and other workers. These workers had a
wide range of age and were notorious for drinking and solicitation of Prostitution,
and other undesirable activities. These ideals contrasting widely from the Second
Great Awaking that was happening at the same place and time.

An interesting interactions between two grouped was the Bethel Society and their
attempt to clean up the Canal Industry. Sheriff shows the Canal Drivers fueled by
alcohol, while the Temperance movement was gaining momentum.
Unlike some industries such as the Mills, which treated their young ladies in a
paternalist ways, the same could not be said for Canal boat captains, which treated
their employees as more like “animals then sons”.(147)

Canallars represented the future to this society, yet citizens who had daily
interactions with these workers became concerned with their actions and the fact
that this might be the future of their lives.

Missionaries in the area began to realize that the responsibility of the actions of
these crews should be placed on the businessmen that owned and operated the
boats. Pg 162

Sheriff highlights an intense debate on whether the canal should be closed for the
Sabbath. One group argued that this time would allow workers to go to church,
another group argued successfully that to leave this workers idle, wherever they
were moored would create even more problems opening the workers to “even more
sins” (163).

Sheriff examines how progress brings many things to these small communities, and
how they would not always be viewed as helpful. The question that she attempts to
answer does the good outweigh the bad? It seems in the case of the canal, the
advances brought were definitely what they needed/wanted.

Today society seems to think that getting back to nature is new yet, it was
interesting to read about Nathaniel Hawthorne he travelled the canal in 1830 and
objected to what he saw as too rapid and unthinkable advance of progress. This
addressis the paradox of progress. Is progress always good, or does it not have its
consequences?

It is interesting to think that after only forty years of canal people would start to
think of the canal as second nature, as always been there yet this wasn’t the case.

Sheriffs book concludes with the end of the antebellum period, the state focus on
the Canal was gone due to the Civil War. Sheriff concludes with the fact that the
future presented would differ vastly from what actually happened in the end of the
antebellum period.

With the emergence of the railroad, the state attempted to protect the Canal by
imposing tariffs but by 1851 these were gone, paving the way for the railroad to
become the dominate commercial and passenger transport

I enjoyed Sheriff’s book. I think that the Erie Canal shows the conflicting views of
the antebellumperiod. Her book also tells of how the canal would only work than it
was stated.