General Arthur St. Clair
Appointed Governor of Ohio by Congress
The dawning of the era of slackwater navigation and of the locomotive brought the public to the realization, however, that a macadamized road was not in 1838 all the wonder that it was thought to be in 1806. But in its day the Cumberland Road was a tremendous power in opening a new country, in giving hope to a brave but secluded people who had won and held the West for the Union. This was why Henry Clay championed the movement, and why he should be remembered therefor. As a Kentuckian he knew the Western problem, and with the swiftness of genius he caught the true intent and deeper meaning of a great national work such as the building of such a material bond of union. Nothing has done so much for civilization, after the alphabet and the printing press, Macaulay has said, as the inventions which have abridged distance. In those years, quick with hopes and vast with possibility at the opening of the nineteenth century, the Cumberland Road, stretching its yellow coils out across the Alleghanies and into the prairies, advanced civilization as no other material object did or could have done. "If there is any kind of advancement going on," wrote Bushnell, "if new ideas are abroad and new hopes rising, then you will see it by the roads that are building." This old road, worn out and almost forgotten, its milestones tottering, its thousand taverns silent where once all was life and merriment, is a great monument of days when advancement was a new word, when great hopes were rising and great ideas were abroad. As such it shall be remembered and honored as one of the greatest and most timely acts of promotion our young Government executed.
CHAPTER VIII
Gouverneur Morris's Day-dream of the Coming Blessings of Liberty.—He predicts Artificial Channels from the Lakes to the Hudson.—The Sight of the Caledonian Canal enables him to foresee Wealth for the Interior of America.—Seeing Ships on Lake Erie, he predicts that Ocean Vessels will soon sail on the Lakes.—Inland Navigation a Great Factor in this Country's Development.—Many Rivers not made Navigable for Lack of Engineering Skill.—President Jefferson recommends that the Surplus in the Treasury be used for Internal Improvements.—Jesse Hawley writes Articles in Behalf of an Erie Canal.—A Bill in the New York Legislature for the Same Object.—Hindrances to the Execution of the Project.—Names of Some Notable Friends of the Undertaking.—Erie Canal Bill passed by the New York Legislature, 1817.—Lack of Good Roads necessitates Transportation of Materials for the Canal in Winter only.—Other Difficulties.—Clearing away the Timber and laying out the Track from Albany to Buffalo.—Imported Machinery used for uprooting Trees and Stumps.—Neighboring States urged to Contribute.—Cost and Profits both Greater than Estimated.—Rejoicings at the Opening of the Canal.—The Success of this Canal leads to other Enterprises.
MORRIS AND CLINTON: FATHERS OF THE ERIE CANAL
