Significance
Video Clip From: Personal Interview with Ana B. Koval, President and CEO of the Canal Corridor Association
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The effects of the Illinois and Michigan Canal resounded throughout Chicago, Illinois, the Midwest, and even the nation! |
The completion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which connected the waterways from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, was a turning point in Illinois history because it acted as a catalyst for immigration, economic growth, and population expansion, thereby establishing Chicago as a national trading and commercial city. Despite the obsolescence of the Illinois and Michigan Canal only sixty-six years after its opening, Illinois grew into, and has remained, a prosperous state due to the canal’s major impact.
"One of the remarkable phenomena of the 19th century was the magical rise of Chicago from a struggling village sunk in the mud of a prairie to a great Metropolis, ranking fifth in the roll of the world's greatest cities." -J. Paul Goode “It is a noteworthy fact that the waterways for whose improvement there is now the strongest demand are mainly those which formed the great highways of commerce nearly a century ago."
-"The Illinois and Michigan Canal: A Study in Economic History" |
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Video Clip From: "LaSalle Canal Boat Promo" - Illinois Canal Corridor Association
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“While the canal played an important part as a commercial route between the East and the west before the rise of railroad transportation, its influence on the economic development of the region adjacent to it was even more marked as is attested by the growth of population, industry and commerce in that portion of the state, in the quarter of a century from 1830 to 1855.”
-“The Illinois and Michigan Canal- National Canal Corridor” “A throbbing lifeline life line of commerce and communication reflecting the city’s growth.”
-Leonard Aronson |
The completion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal was a turning point in history because it...
Provided job opportunities to thousands of immigrants
Completed a great water transportation route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico
Led to economic growth within Illinois
Established Chicago as a central city of commerce in America
Completed a great water transportation route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico
Led to economic growth within Illinois
Established Chicago as a central city of commerce in America