Freshwater resources on the earth are not abundant, but two places account for about 20% of the world's total freshwater. One of them is Lake Baikal and the other is the Great Lakes in North America.

Freshwater resources on the earth are not abundant, but there are two places that account for about 20% of the world's total freshwater. One of them is Lake Baikal, and the other is the Great Lakes in North America. Together, the two have diverted 40% of human water resources, and their owners, Russia, the United States, and Canada, have a combined population of just over 500 million. And in comparison, the significance of the Great Lakes to the United States and Canada is not limited to fresh water, because compared with Lake Baikal, which is located in sparsely populated Siberia, the Great Lakes region is one of the most densely populated areas in North America.

In terms of area, the Great Lakes exceed 240,000 square kilometers, which is almost the same as the United Kingdom. Moreover, the lakes are connected by waterways, making transportation extremely convenient. However, such a superior environment has highlighted a fatal flaw in the development of modern economy - no outlet to the sea. Of course, this sentence is relative to the United States, because for Canada, the end of the St. Lawrence River is the Great Lakes The mouth of the sea. The United States gained independence from Britain at the end of the 18th century and expanded significantly to the west shortly thereafter. It was during this period that the Great Lakes region was incorporated into the territory of the United States.

From the perspective of the United States at this time, the thirteen eastern states were the most thoroughly developed, but to develop the western economy, the vast inland must be connected to the Atlantic Ocean. However, the only natural waterway that can enter the Atlantic Ocean from the Great Lakes is in the hands of Canada. Obviously, there are only two ways to solve this problem, either to annex Canada by force and take the mouth of the St. Lawrence River as its own; or to rely on one's own efforts and dig artificial canals domestically. From a historical perspective, it can be considered that the United States has tried the above two approaches successively, and finally adopted the second approach when the first approach failed.

Looking from the map, the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes are separated by the north-south Appalachian Mountains , which makes it almost impossible to have an east-west natural river channel here, and undoubtedly increases the difficulty of digging artificial canals. After entering the 19th century, communication between the east and west of the United States had become an urgent task. Under such circumstances, the Canal Preparatory Committee was established in 1810, but construction was delayed due to an excessive budget. The person who led the project at that time was the governor of New York State. After on-site surveys, he determined the plan to dig eastward from Lake Erie in the Great Lakes to the Hudson River . Therefore, the canal was called the "Erie Canal".

However, due to the staggering budget expenditure of 7 million US dollars, the Erie Canal was widely criticized and ridiculed as the "Erie Ditch". You must know that the United States later purchased Alaska for only 7.2 million US dollars. The huge cost prevented the engineering bill from being passed. At this time, the "Second War of Independence" broke out, and the United States marched north to invade Canada and threatened to annex it. Obviously, if this military operation is successful, the United States will no longer have to spend so much time digging canals. By then, the purpose of communicating between the East and the West can still be achieved through the St. Lawrence River, but it is a pity that the war failed.

The British in Canada counterattacked all the way, and finally stormed into Washington and burned the White House. The United States' wishful thinking failed. After the war, Britain and the United States returned to the pre-war situation. Not even an inch of Canadian land was annexed to the United States. As a last resort, the Americans had to go back to the canal project that had been shelved in the early stage. After unremitting efforts, the governor of New York finally pushed Congress to pass the bill, and the canal was fully opened ten years later. After completion, ships on the upper reaches of the Mississippi River can enter the Erie Canal through the Great Lakes, then enter the Hudson River and sail into the Atlantic Ocean. New York at the mouth of the sea has also become the largest city and trade center in the United States.

To this day, when Americans look back at the entire process of canal construction, many people will be sad to see that the critics who opposed the construction have disappeared. No one will remember their names, but they have been The Erie Canal, ridiculed as the "Erie Ditch", still exists after a hundred years. The truth is ultimately in the hands of a few people.