Growth of NYS Business
April 17, 1996
For a number of reasons, business enterprise in New
York grew by leaps and bounds between 1825 and 1860.
New York's growth between the years 1825 and 1860 can be attributed to a number
of factors. These include but cannot be limited to the construction of the Erie
Canal, the invention of the telegraph, the developed of the railroads, the
establishment of Wall Street and banking, the textile, shipping, agriculture and
newpaper industries, the development of steam power and the use of iron products.
On October 26, 1825 the Erie Canal was opened. The canal immediately became an
important commercial route connecting the East with the Ohio and Mississippi
Valleys. With tht time of travel cut to one-third and the cost of shipping
freight cut to one-tenthof the previous figures, commerce via the canal soon
made New York City the chief port of the Atlantic. The growing urban
population and the construction
of canals, railroads and factories stimulated the
demand for raw materials and food stuffs. In 1836 four-fifths of the tonnage
over the Erie Canal came from western New York (North, 105). Much of this
cargo was in the form of agriculture goods.
The farmer become a shrewed businessaman of sorts as he tended to produce
whatever products would leave him the greatest profit margin. The rise of the
dairy industry was by far the most significant development in the agricultural
history of the state between 1825 and 1860. Farmers discovered that cows were
their most relliable money-makers, since both the domestic and foreign market
kept demanding more dairy pr ...