LESSON
14
KEY
WORDS
P
ENNSYLVANIA
C
ATCHES
C
ANAL
F
EVER
F
OCUS
Q
UESTIONS
:
1. How did canals contribute to Pennsylvania’s industrial growth?
2. How did the Allegheny Portage differ from the canals?
3. What was life like traveling on a canal boat?
canal
bankrupt
ascended
portage
aqueducts
locks
steamengine
KEY
PLACES
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
PennMain Line Canal
Columbia
Hollidaysburg
Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Portage
Railroad
C & O Canal
National Canal
Museum
Delaware Canal
State Park
Our Canal System
In themid-1800s, the industrial growth of Pennsylvania and our nation depended
uponmoving people and products by faster and cheaper transportationmethods.
Business people thought another type of transportation wouldmake it possible to
accomplish this task in amore efficient manner than the Conestoga wagon. They
thought a systemof canals would be a faster, more profitable way tomove goods and
people fromplace to place.
A
canal
is a waterway dug through the earth to connect rivers, lakes, and bays. For
30 years, from1828-1858, Pennsylvania caught Canal Fever—a “fever” which cost the
state government an enormous $100,000,000. Our state boastedmoremiles of
canals than any other state. However, building themnearly caused the state to go
bankrupt
. Eventually, the costs were
recovered through themovement of raw
materials, trade goods, and people.
It’s easy to understand why canal travel became
popular. A trip by canal fromPhiladelphia to
Pittsburgh took four days. The same trip took six
weeks by wagon.
PennMainLineCanal System
64
Understanding Pennsylvania
