Have you ever needed easier access to the essential items to stay alive? This is specifically what the residents of the North-East thought around the year 1817. Carol Sheriff argues in her book, “The Artificial River” that the residents of the canal corridor actively sought after long-distance trade and therefore consumer goods that markets brought to their homes. The fact that people supported the Erie Canal at all "suggests that at least some aspired to engage in broader market exchange" (p. 11). The transformation of this region because of the Erie Canal is organized around six topics, each of which is covered by a chapter. They include the; Visions of Progress, the Triumph of Art over Nature, Reducing Distance and Time, the Politics of Land and Water, the Politics of Business, and the Perils of Progress.
. In the first chapter, "Visions of Progress," Sheriff describes the "culture or visions of progress." She notes that the inhabitants of the canal corridor combined an "individualistic, or liberal" pursuit of wealth with a belief that "the goals of individuals should be subordinated to the common good, or the commonwealth" (p. 14). The first details the visions of leading New Yorkers to get the project underway. These individuals were what Sheriff calls “adherents to the practical republicanism” who believed that “the nation’s common good depended on prosperity, individual opportunity and an equal emphasis on rural and urban growth” (p.24). Most prominently, Governor DeWitt Clinton acted in this project. A rather gigantic project such as the Erie Canal would further their visions of progress.
The next chapter, "The Triumph of Art over Nature," explores in greater detail the beliefs of upstate New Yorkers. Accordingly, problems in the construction process of the Canal and a project of immense size and complexity for that era. According to Sheriff, the Canal was “a tribute to republicanism” and a great “American achievement.” Canal supporters saw the project as the product of an unusual American art. "Republican Free Men" built the canal, according to a capstone in Lockport, near Buffalo (p. 35). New Yorkers realized that most of the canal laborers shared no resemblance to republican free men. They were
3.In 1837, the Michigan State Legislature passed a Public Improvement Act, which authorized the governor to sell $5 million in bonds to fund the construction of what?
When the Canal was built towns all along the route from Buffalo to Albany prospered from the revenue and the attraction the Canal brought with it. Whether the Canal was being used for business people, immigrants, settlers of the region, or tourists, the border-towns all had some appeal to these persons. After some time the state was continually asked to expand the Canal from the original route to include connecting canal routes. However, the same towns along the route from Buffalo to Albany had already been established along the lines of the original canal. These towns would need to be relocated in order to obey these new requests. This presented a major problem because the people in these towns had formed a life around the Canal and many of them made their income based of the Canal. The inhabitants of the towns changed their mentality from not wanting the Canal to invade on their lives, to it being an essential part of their lives they depended upon.
This is a book about a young woman named Sundara who is from Cambodia. Chamroeun is a guy who Sundaras parents want her to marry because it is custom in Cambodia that the parents pick who their children will marry. Sundara falls in love with Chamroeun but that has to end because he goes off to fight in the war. It is about how she lived with a group of people (tribe) and one day Khmer Rouge came and tried to take over their village, Phnom Penh. Sundara, her family and the rest of Phnom Penh ran to a boat and they sailed away, planning to go to America. Back then people from different countries were lead to believe that America was a perfect place and you could be or do anything you desired, well that obviously isn't the
Everyone has a desire, something that they want to achieve or obtain for them. Whether it is ethical or immoral, having desires is almost inevitable. Sometimes these desires make people go through tough times. Tragic occurrences such as death and broken relationships shape the lives of people positively or negatively. In the following essay, “Many Rivers to Cross” and the short stories, “Two Kinds” and “Everyday Use”, the protagonists of these texts struggle to achieve their desire, but because of those struggles the main characters do eventually come to a revelation.
In The Artificial River, Carol Sheriff describes how when the digging of the Erie Canal began on July 4, 1817, no one would have been able to predict that the canal would even be considered a paradox of progress. One of the major contradictions of progress was whether or not triumphing art over nature was even considered progress. People were not sure during the nineteenth century if changing the environment for industrialization was necessarily a good thing. Another contradiction to progress that resulted from the Erie Canal was when people started holding the state government responsible for all their financial misfortunes. An additional contradiction to progress that the Erie Canal displayed was how many of its workers were either
Louis L’Amour, author of “Rivers West” and many other famous books and short stories, was born in Jamestown North Dakota March 22, 1908. L’Amour was an indifferent student and dropped out of school at the age of 15. The next two decades L’Amour traveled the world and held many different jobs, he was a lumberjack, an elephant trainer, a miner, and during World War 2 he served as an officer in the tanks corps in Europe. It was not till he came back from World War 2 that he decided to be a writer and he wrote books as wells short stories, but finally after years his big break came at the age of 46 with the western book “Hondo” which later was adapted into a movie done by John Wayne. L’Amour married Katherine Elizabeth Adams in 1956, and they had two children. Over the next thirty years L’Amour wrote many more books and short stories, some were eventually adapted into movies, and on June 10,1988 Louis L’Amour died of lung cancer though he was not a smoker.
The Secret River by Kate Grenville focuses on the characterisation of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians and social expectations each may have in the 19th Century. Throughout the entirety of the novel Grenville discusses characters and how each adjust to their new environments whether it be the Aborigines or the non–Aboriginal Australians.
Characters in the text The Secret River by Kate Grenville represent a variation of attitudes and views towards the colonisation of Australia and the Aboriginal Australians. While many characters are indecisive about their opinion on the natives, some characters have a clear mind-set on how they are to be treated. The characters of Thomas Blackwood and Smasher Sullivan represent the two very different sides of the moral scale, and the other characters fit between these sides. Smasher is a vicious, cold-hearted man who shows no respect or humanity towards the Aboriginals. On the other hand, Blackwood’s character contrasts Smasher with his humanity and general respect to the original owners of their new home. The
1. In 1825, Philadelphians began debating whether to build a multi-million dollar canal through the Allegheny Mountains to connect the city to the markets in the Ohio River Valley. Who was Matthew Carey, and why did he push so hard for the canal?
The canal that links the waters of Lake Erie to the west of the Hudson River in the east, is the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal is an example of Henry Clay’s vision to harmonize and balance the country’s agriculture, economy and industries. The building of this canal was first proposed in 1808 and was eventually completed in 1824. At the time, New York State Governor De Witt Clinton envisioned a canal that would link Albany to Buffalo. The idea was criticized by some and given the name “Clinton’s ditch”. The idea turned out to be a critical turning point for the country since it opened up many new possibilities.
Immigrants came flooding into the United States in hope of finding work. However, the canal did not attract just immigrants; it also brought visitors and tourists. Bringing in a sea of people, America was soon growing economically and nationally. “I have no doubt it is correct; for that I know was my early opinion, and many, I dare say still think with me that N. York has anticipated by a full century the ordinary progress of improvement.” More cities were established in the Midwest. Because the canal was such an attraction for people all over the world, the United States began to function and expand on using ships and relying on ships to transfer products to other parts in America.
A River Runs Through It is, deservedly so, the work that Norman Maclean will always be best known for. His 1976 semi-autobiographical novella tells what is really only a brief piece of the life story of two brothers who grew up together in the Montana wilderness; but the scope of this timeless tale of fishing, family, and religion extends beyond just a few months. It touches on the entirety of the complicated relationship between Norman Maclean and his parents, and his prodigal yet distant and troubled brother Paul. In masterful and stirring prose, Maclean examines the strength of their bond, and yet how neither he nor his family could keep Paul from self-destruction. Maclean also mulls over his and his family’s ideas about grace and man’s relation to nature. Maclean’s enthralling vision is delivered through the artistry of his writing, earning the book its deserved position as a classic of American literature. In 1992, a film adaptation of the novel was released,
In the poem "Prelude to Jumping in the River" by Katia Grubisic, the speaker enlightens individuals with the mental process of making important decisions and the result when no action is taken. The speaker first sees a man strip to his undergarments and procedes to jump in the river. The speaker desires to do the same; however, "the mental preparation takes some time" for the speaker (4-5). This indicates the speaker is a cautious character who does not often commit reckless actions. Furthermore, when the speaker notices the man resurface, the speaker is feeling regretful about not jumping in the river. The speaker sees "the slowing ripples, the dogs rushing down the hill, the surprised head bobbling above the water,"and realizing that
The Artificial River, a well thought of 177 paged book written by the author Carol Sheriff whom at the time was an graduate at Yale University and finished it off while an assistant professor at William and Mary. This compelling book captures and emphasis the success and downfall the Erie canal has brought to the people. Sheriff has a clear notion that “progress” viewed differently through the eyes of conflicting people and status. What one envisioned the Canal turn out to be fluctuated from another. Progress to them meant in large part men and women take apart an active role in the community that they are in which the construction of the Erie canal consisted of people doing just that. She apprehended that whomever supported the canal had some dream and hope to actively be apart a wider range or market exchange. In Sheriff words she says that progress would play a central role in defining Northern sectional identity in decades. The book will explore six topics which are titled Vision of Progress, The Triumph of Art over Nature, Reducing time and distance, Politics of land and water, Politics of Business and The Perils of Progress all of which I will touch on throughout the paper.
The coal seams ran under the higher ground to the north. The Duke's land agent, John Gilbert, saw that it was possible to connect the canal directly to the mines by way of an underground canal. This in turn could be used to help with draining the mines, providing a source of water for the canal.” Canals changed the way we collected goods, and they made it much more facile to transport them.