How the I&M Canal Helped The People
The I&M Canal helped the people in many ways. It helped the people prevent sicknesses and help them trade. It also helped the people by providing transportation and fertile soil for farming.
The water was polluted before the I & M Canal was made. When people drank the water, they got cholera. Cholera is a fatal disease that attacks the small intestines. The Sanitary & Ship canal reversed the polluted water so it would flow somewhere else when the I&M Canal didn't do a thing to stop it.
During rainy seasons, many people rowed boats to travel around, but usually they traveled by regular scheduled passenger boats. By the end of the first summer, there were 5 Packets ( passenger boats), 52 liners, 6 lakes, 17 Deck'd Scows, 39 Open Scows, and 16 rivers were operating. The I&M Canal improved transportation when it was operating.
The water in the I&M Canal made rich soil for farming. Almost all the labors that worked on the canal, became farmers after the I&M Canal was done. The canal got their goods to the market quickly and cheaply.
Wheat was the chief crop grown in the state, but corn soon took it's place. Corn was earier to harest. Pigs loved to eat the corn, so the meat packing company farvored in the corn growth.
In the first season the canal was built, Chicago became the nation's largest inland port. The canal helped the people in many ways. It's definately a frontier of Illinois.
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