UVM Theses and Dissertations
Format:
Print
Author:
Moore, Phillip Kennedy
Dept./Program:
History
Year:
2012
Degree:
M.A.
Abstract:
The Champlain Canal played a profound role in the regional development of northwestern Vermont, and particularly the city of Burlington. Linking Lake Champlain with the Hudson River and the Erie Canal, the Champlain Canal provided an inexpensive transportation link to an expanding marketplace in the early nineteenth century. With the opening of the canal, the people of northwestern Vermont gained access to domestic markets that were previously too expensive to reach, strengthening the state's economic ties with the United States and pulling it out British Canada's sphere of influence.
This study examines the political transition that resulted from northwestern Vermont's integration into the domestic market following the completion of the Champlain Canal. Prior to the canal's completion in 1823, the people of northwestern Vermont had limited access to domestic markets due to a lack of sufficient infrastructure connecting the northern frontier to the more developed communities to the south. Instead, the merchants of Burlington and the surrounding communities used Lake Champlain to reach markets in British Canada. The economic dependence of northwestern Vermonters on markets in Canada became a liability for the American government in the 1800s and 1810s as relations between the U.S. and Great Britain deteriorated. Motivated by economic necessity, northwestern Vermonters continuted to trade with the British, even when it meant violating American laws. Recognizing the need to economically integrate the northern borderland with the rest of the nation, politicians such as DeWitt Clinton of New York championed the construction of a canal to link Lake Champlain to the Hudson. With the Champlain Canal's completion in 1823, the people of northwestern Vermont gained a safe and cost-effective route to lucrative domestic markets in New York and beyond, freeing the region from economic dependence on Canadian markets.
This study examines how integration with the domestic marketplace was made possible by the Champlain Canal. Integration with the domestic market led to a dramatic economic expansion in Vermont, particularly in the mercantile community of Burlington. However, farmers in surrounding towns soon found themselves at a competitive disadvantage with their counterparts in newly settled regions that had better growing conditions. Turning to wool production, Vermont's farmers increasingly looked to the federal government to protect their interests through the expansion of the tariff. The area's merchants also called for federal support of internal improvements -roads, canals, and railroads -that would help facilitate increased trade throughout the country. This study analyzes how the challenges of market integration impacted Vermont's politics and the way in which Vermonters perceived the national government. The belief that the federal government should play an active role in economic development shaped the political identity of northwestern Vermont throughout the Jacksonian era.
This study examines the political transition that resulted from northwestern Vermont's integration into the domestic market following the completion of the Champlain Canal. Prior to the canal's completion in 1823, the people of northwestern Vermont had limited access to domestic markets due to a lack of sufficient infrastructure connecting the northern frontier to the more developed communities to the south. Instead, the merchants of Burlington and the surrounding communities used Lake Champlain to reach markets in British Canada. The economic dependence of northwestern Vermonters on markets in Canada became a liability for the American government in the 1800s and 1810s as relations between the U.S. and Great Britain deteriorated. Motivated by economic necessity, northwestern Vermonters continuted to trade with the British, even when it meant violating American laws. Recognizing the need to economically integrate the northern borderland with the rest of the nation, politicians such as DeWitt Clinton of New York championed the construction of a canal to link Lake Champlain to the Hudson. With the Champlain Canal's completion in 1823, the people of northwestern Vermont gained a safe and cost-effective route to lucrative domestic markets in New York and beyond, freeing the region from economic dependence on Canadian markets.
This study examines how integration with the domestic marketplace was made possible by the Champlain Canal. Integration with the domestic market led to a dramatic economic expansion in Vermont, particularly in the mercantile community of Burlington. However, farmers in surrounding towns soon found themselves at a competitive disadvantage with their counterparts in newly settled regions that had better growing conditions. Turning to wool production, Vermont's farmers increasingly looked to the federal government to protect their interests through the expansion of the tariff. The area's merchants also called for federal support of internal improvements -roads, canals, and railroads -that would help facilitate increased trade throughout the country. This study analyzes how the challenges of market integration impacted Vermont's politics and the way in which Vermonters perceived the national government. The belief that the federal government should play an active role in economic development shaped the political identity of northwestern Vermont throughout the Jacksonian era.