The Willowbrook Wars Book

A few years ago, I left early from a particularly mind-numbing conference in Rochester, NY and as I leisurely drove home I found that my Interstate highway crossed over the Erie Canal. Yes, that Erie Canal. The "Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal" canal. The canal that I knew from history (and from How the West Was Won). Frankly, I pride myself in having a wide range of historical facts packed into my cranium, but I have to admit that it never occurred to me that the Erie Canal was still in existence, let alone still in use. And so, having exited from the highway, I sat by the Erie Canal and pondered whether there might be an "Erie Canal Museum". Once my smartphone confirmed that there is one in Syracuse, I decided to do a non-virtual, non-Wikipedia excursion to find out more about the history of the Erie Canal and off I went to Syracuse to find the museum (which turned out to be quite good… if you're ever in the Syracuse area, check it out!).

All of which is a round-about way to introduce Peter Berstein's Wedding of the Waters, which is an excellent and thorough history of the Erie Canal. And more, as it turned out.

Anyone familiar with my reviews knows that I like histories that fill in the blanks and I am often very happy when I find one that provides needed context to the point of not getting to the main event for quite some time. This is one of those books; in this case, the first spadeful of earth doesn't get turned until page 199. Before that, we learn a great deal about the history of canal construction, the politics of New York State and the federal government in the first half of the 19th century, the geography of New York vs. the geography of Virginia, and the rise of DeWitt Clinton. We also are introduced to a canal-centric understanding of the War of 1812, the Panic of 1817, and the first and second United States Banks.

In the end, Mr. Berstein weaves a compelling tale of the creation of the Erie Canal and the ways in which it bound the western lands of the United States with the states on the eastern seaboard, both politically and economically, along with surprising tidbits about the canal's effect on population in Vermont and Connecticut, its role in the repeal of the Corn Laws (and subsequent leadership in the development of industrialization) in Great Britain, and, most importantly, its role in turning New York City into the preeminent city in the world. All of which, by the way, was done on time, within budget, and essentially by hand. And it should also be noted that the proponents of the canal underestimated its potential for success; the canal debt was paid off early and eventually the tolls for using the canal were eliminated entirely.

Mr. Berstein has an accessible writing style and Wedding of the Waters is definitely a "page turner" that I eagerly returned to whenever the opportunity afforded itself. In fact, I have a burning desire to once again visit both the canal and the museum now that I am armed with Mr. Bernstein's insights. And my advice to you is that you go to the museum in Syracuse and, before you leave, pick up a copy of this book. Neither will disappoint.