Themes in American History

Urban expansion in America from 1800 to 1865 was impressive. There was an intense competition of urbanization among many cities. Transportation improvement, for example, played a big role in the development of both New York City and Chicago. Like New York City, Chicago benefitted from the establishment of Erie Canal. The 363-mile canal, running west from Hudson River at Albany to Lake Erie at Buffalo, completed the job of linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The connection among Erie Canal, and Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan made it possible for Chicago to extend its trade with other regions despite its location in the interior of the continent.  Allowing a new route of water travel, the canal largely reduced the shipping costs. Due to this advantage, Chicago emerged as one of the largest lake ports in the region. New York City also benefitted from Erie Canal since the canal extended its trade from New York State to the entire Great Lakes System. Thanks to this transportation improvement, the economy of New York City grew even more rapidly, and manufacturing was spread out.

However, unlike New York City, Chicago also benefitted from another form of transportation improvement—a web of railroad. It is worth pointing out that building railroad tracks were cheaper than building canals, and they don’t freeze in the winter. Railroad could also run through some tough areas. Thus, during the 1850s, the railroad system grew to serve the entire Illinois State. At the same time, more than 30,000 miles railroad was built in America. The complexity of the rail system allowed transporting products easier. The dependence of water transportation no longer existed, and railroad system immediately dominated the Midwest commercial transportation. At the heart of the Midwest, the location of Chicago won over the location of New York City. As a result, Chicago emerged more quickly, with its population growing from hundreds in the 1830s to more than 109,260 in the 1860s, making it one of the major cities of the nation.(38-39, Chudacoff)

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