Janet Dorothy Larkin
Published: 2018-02-01
Total Pages: 286
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Analyzes the nineteenth-century canal age in the NiagaraGreat Lakes borderland region as a transnational phenomenon. In Overcoming Niagara Janet Dorothy Larkin analyzes the canal age from the perspective of the NiagaraGreat Lakes borderland between 1792 and 1837. She shows what drove the transportation revolution, not the conventional story of westward expansion and the international/metropolitan rivalry between Great Britain and the United States, but a dynamic connection, cooperation, and healthy competition in a transnational-borderland region. Larkin focuses on North Americas three most vital waterwaysthe Erie, Oswego, and Welland Canals. Canadian and American transportation leaders and promoters mutually sought to overcome the natural and artificial barriers presented by Niagara Falls by building an integrated, interconnected canal system, thus strengthening the borderland economy and propelling westward expansion, market development, and the Niagara tourist industry. On the heels of the Erie Canals bicentennial in 2017, Overcoming Niagaraexplores the transnational nature of the canal age within the NiagaraGreat Lakes borderland, and its impact on the commercial and cultural landscape of this porous region.