Transportation advances cut travel times significantly. On the Erie Canal, goods and people could move from New York City to Buffalo in four days, a two-week trip by road. Steamboats cut travel time from New York to New Orleans from four weeks by road to less than two weeks by river.

READING THE MAP In what parts of the country were canals built most extensively? Were most of them within a single state’s borders, or did they encourage interstate travel and shipping?

CONNECTIONS What impact did the Erie Canal have on the development of New York City? How did improvements in transportation affect urbanization in other parts of the country?