View of the Erie Canal
This pastoral view of the Erie Canal near Lockport, New York, painted by artist John William Hill, hints at this waterway’s profound impact on American life. Without the canal, the town in the background would not exist and farmers such as the man in the foreground would not have a regional market for their cattle and grain. The success of the Erie Canal had led to the construction of a vast system of canals by 1860. This infrastructure was as important to the nation as the railroad network of the late nineteenth century and the interstate highway and airport transportation systems of the late twentieth century. © Bettmann/Corbis.