The Political and Economic Debates of the New York State Canal System 1895 – 1903

Union College Union | Digital Works Honors Theses Student Work 6-2015 Holding Water: The olitP ical and Economic Debates of the New York State Canal System 1895 – 1903 Erich Grome Union College - Schenectady, NY Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses Part of the Transportation Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Grome, Erich, "Holding Water: The oP litical and Economic Debates of the New York State Canal System 1895 – 1903" (2015). Honors Theses. 318. https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses/318 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at Union | Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of Union | Digital Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Holding Water The Political and Economic Debates of the New York State Canal System 1895 – 1903 Erich D. Grome Senior Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Honors in the Department of History Department of Economics Department of History Union College June, 2015 2 Dedication: This work is dedicated to my mother and father. If it were not for your loving and unceasing care, support, and dedication to my upbringing and education, this historical piece would certainly not have been possible. Acknowledgments: There are several people who should rightfully be acknowledged for their time and effort in guiding and assisting me in completing this work. First and foremost, I would like to recognize and thank my thesis advisors, professors Brad Lewis and Andrew Morris. Specifically, I would like to note Professor Lewis’s commitment to a more classical, extensive, and interconnected outlook on the field of Economics, known as Cliometrics, which has certainly shaped my perspective of the major and its application in the world today. Moreover, I would like to cite the immense amount of time spent by and the passion instilled in me by Professor Morris in relation to the pursuance of my Barge Canal study and the vast improvement in my writing ability. Furthermore, I would like to express my appreciation for the several canal historians who have dedicated so much of their time and effort to the preservation of the waterway’s history so that current and future generations will never forget the tremendous exploits of the past. Among these laboring individuals were Craig Williams, Duncan Hayes, and Daniel Ward, as well as the helpful staff of the New York State Library and Archives, all of whom assisted in one manner or another throughout my research and writing process. Finally, I owe a debt of gratitude to all the fine professors, faculty, and staff of Union College for their tireless efforts to make the campus a place of learning and maturation. 3 Table of Contents: Introduction: 6 – 35 Chapter I: Decline of Clinton’s Ditch 36 – 65 Chapter II: From Disastrous Debacle to Decisive Discussion 66 – 89 Chapter III: Casual Insight Turns to Contemplative Investigation 89 – 117 Chapter IV: From Careful Detailing to Contentious Debate 118 – 155 Chapter V: Converting Tumultuous Discord into Legislative Triumph 156 – 188 Chapter VI: Parliamentary Progress Produces Plebiscite Proclamation 189 – 236 Concluding Considerations: 237 – 244 Bibliography: 245 – 252 4 Abstract: With the allure of the famed Erie Canal deteriorating as swiftly as its traffic and physical condition by the latter half of the nineteenth century, New Yorkers gave serious thought to the future of the waterway. As the commerce of the state and its renowned metropolis of New York City declined relative to its rival states and ports during this period, many questioned if enlarging the canal system would lead to its revival and produce similar results for the economy of the state at large. An ever frequent scene of partisan conflict, the proposals to radically enlarge the Erie Canal faced relentless antagonism from competing railroads, distrustful farmers, and wary upstate residents, while receiving the habitually vacillating and oftentimes divided support of canal advocates across New York State. Promoters championed the project as vital to the state and nation to ensure cheaper and adequately regulated transportation rates, resulting in heightened commerce and prosperity, just as it had in the past. Conversely, opponents decried the proposal as antiquated infrastructure and a colossal waste of public funds. Taking its final form as the Barge Canal and approved by referendum in 1903, the significantly enlarged waterway changed course through canalizing lakes and rivers, bypassing numerous cities that its predecessor helped found. In this new canal era, the Barge Canal soon became a stimulus for economic success and expansion throughout the region, just as the Erie Canal had been catalyst for New York State the century before. 5 Treading Water and Land: Deliverance; the question that has captivated the minds of mankind since its primordial existence. No, this is not in reference to some divine revelation, but rather to the theme of transportation, one that began with the debate that drove the first primitive human being to climb down from the safety of its tree and cross the open and treacherous grasslands in search of more fruitful prospects. Since this initial decision of exploratory movement to brave the unknown dangers that lay beyond the horizon, humanity has been in a continuous pursuit of improving and easing the means by which they travel from one point to another. Such inquisitive thinking resulted in the inventing of the wheel, unequivocally revolutionizing world history forever, but what about before that? Certainly, early humans encountered large bodies of water and realized their ability to float upon them, along with the similar ability of other materials. Subsequently, makeshift rafts and boats were constructed and thus, aquatic transportation was born, further shaping human civilization and its impact upon the planet. Evolving through time, mankind no longer wished to be bound by the borders and courses of the natural waterways and set out to construct channels that served their travel needs. With the advent of canals, humanity would endeavor to expand their development and tame the wilderness through the further utilization of cheap water travel. Eventually reaching the shores of North America and gazing upon upstate New York’s vast woodlands, flanked on each side by the Great Lakes to the west and the Hudson River to the east, the new holders of this land eyed it with visions of opportunity and enterprise. “The chief element in the prosperity of every State or Nation is the economy of transportation of persons and property. It is the most marked fact in the difference 6 between civilization and barbarism.”1 Though espoused by Horatio Seymour in an 1882 letter, this notion was undoubtedly held by most enlightened people throughout history and certainly inspired DeWitt Clinton to pursue the imaginative undertaking. The fantastical venture alluded to was the construction of the Erie Canal from 1817 to 1825 through the pristine landscape of upstate New York to connect the Midwest to the Atlantic seaboard. The economic gains that would be achieved through the opening and settlement of these regions were enormous, resulting not only from the exploitation of natural resources but from the establishment of agriculture and manufacturing. These developments would undoubtedly occur across New York State, but more important would be its creation of a gateway to the inland western territories. The watery corridor would benefit populaces in the Midwest, New York City, and everywhere in between. Such enthusiastic economic expectations served DeWitt Clinton and other advocates in refuting incessant naysayers, and the near immediate prosperity generated upon the waterway’s completion silenced all critics for nearly a generation. Yet, there was another distinct element employed for the promotion of and perpetuated by the Erie Canal, pride and patriotism. The notion of patriotism that Clinton espoused was more multifaceted and overarching than the simplistic definition of nationalistic pride in use today. The interpretation that he and other statesmen of his generation, as well as the next few generations, held was an idea of enlightened thinking that inspired one to promote the cultivation and progression of knowledge, science, culture, economics, and general wellbeing of the public. Synonymous with civic duty, virtue, and responsibility, such a 1 Henry W. Hill, A Historical Review of Waterways and Canal Construction in New York State, Vol. 12 (Buffalo, New York: Buffalo Historical Society, 1908), p 474. 7 liberal ethos aimed to foster the betterment of society, manifesting in one respect with the construction infrastructural projects under the auspices of a just, benevolent government absent of self-serving motives. For DeWitt Clinton, the Erie Canal exemplified this ideal, espousing in his first address as governor in 1818: When we consider that every portion of the nation will feel the animating spirit and vivifying influences of these great works; that they will receive the benediction of posterity and command the approbation of the civilized world; we are required to persevere by every dictate of interest, by every sentiment of honor, by every injunction of patriotism, and by every consideration which ought to influence the councils and govern the conduct of a free, high-minded, enlightened, and magnanimous people.2 Even when

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