Labor and Construction: Building the Canal
"Let us bind the Republic together with a perfect system of roads and canals."
-John C. Calhoun, 1817
-John C. Calhoun, 1817
“Construction began on July 4, 1836. There was a great fanfare as the commissioners, financiers, politicians, and just plain folks left Chicago for the long anticipated “shovel day” at Canal-Port, near Bridgeport. Canal Commissioner Col. William B. Archer turned over the first shovelful of dirt…. wading ‘waist-deep’ in the morass of Mud Lake.” -Libby Hill |
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Video Clip From: "The Illinois and Michigan Canal Song" - Ray Tutaj Jr.
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"In ceremonies near Chicago the first ground of the Illinois and Michigan Canal was broken on July 4, 1836." -Jim Redd "Workers dug up the first shovelful of dirt on July 4, 1836. For weeks previously, hundreds of Irish immigrants had been lured to Chicago with the promise of labor, and there was plenty of it. One hundred miles separated the Illinois River from Lake Michigan and it took twelve years for the project to be completed."
-PBS: The American Experience |
“After years of planning, the Canal Commissioners began building the I&M Canal in 1836, but faced numerous hurdles including a shortage of workers, and a national financial panic in 1837."
-The Canal Corridor Association
-The Canal Corridor Association