The Erie Canal has had an enormous effect on the United States, and New York. It changed the lives of millions of Americans, aiding them in their everyday tasks and helping the United States become a power player in world economics. It is a 363 mile-long waterway from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, aiding millions of Americans, and helping to lead to westward expansion.
The Erie Canal helped make the north more industrial by making transportation of materials and finished goods easier. Northern industry needed workers and recruited immigrants which increased the northern population significantly. As a result, the north developed a different “culture” including a growing distaste for slavery.