Porter's "Internal Improvements"

In his speech “Internal Improvements,” Porter’s main point is that infrastructure – especially methods of transport between the largely agricultural Midwest and the industrial western New York – will help people throughout the East coast and in the Midwest of a huge range of backgrounds. He sees both regions in a type of stalemate – western New York requires raw goods in order to reach its full potential in terms of industrial production, whilst the Midwest requires consumers for its agricultural produce. Western New York, he believes, has massive industrial potential – but this potential can only be harnessed with raw goods which can be used. In turn, the Midwest has massive trade potential, but this can only be harnessed by having consumers willing to buy their goods. Porter argues in his speech that the creation of a canal connecting the two regions will allow for both sides to be benefitted – the Wester getting consumers and western New York receiving the raw products which they need. He also believes that a canal like this will create more unit between different regions of the new nation.

Porter argues that the building of the Erie Canal will become innumerable benefits not only to the people, but also to the government and the treasury. By building the canal, Porter believes that western New York will have increased access to the goods they need in their factories, allowing for an increase in industrial production. In turn, the Midwest will gain consumers through a quick way to transport their goods, thereby allowing them not only to do something (Porter believes that they simply need to be idle for a large part of the day since the fields otherwise produce so many goods which then must go to waste), but also to gain money. As well as this, Porter thinks that the creation of canal (although it may originally cost money for the government) will quickly become extremely profitable due to its widespread use for trade. By charging for its use, Porter believes that the treasury will be able to “be remunerated three or four hundred per cent.” Porter believes that the expanding of infrastructure, especially that connecting regions, will greatly help the people and the government. Porter feels that these changes and benefits are essential and highly beneficial in improving the lives of the people in the nation. There would definitely also be numerous changes in the demography and industry in the area surrounding the proposed canal after its construction. Since boats will be using the canal, there will be a growing number of cities forming around the canal. These cities may serve to harbour boats, store produce or for the captains of ships to rest. As trade develops, it is probable that ships will leave the Midwest and then possibly sell produce in a town by the Erie Canal, and this town may in turn sell it to the next town – until it eventually makes its way to western New York. It is also likely that settlements will arise which are industrial centres. Instead of bringing produce all the way to western New York, it can already be processed along the way. Since at the time the Erie Canal was built steamboats were the common form of transport, the coal would also need to be refilled – which would lead to the growth of coal mines in the areas surrounding the canal to fuel the ships on their journey. In turn, this would contribute to the industrialisation of the area surrounding the canal. Locks which control the movement of the ships and work to move ships from one level to another would also be required – and people who can operate them would be required too. These locks may become settlements as well where people open and close the locks in order to let ships pass, and also will probably become places in which other goods are produced and possibly places where ship captains can rest along their journey. All of these changes in urbanisation and industrialisation in the areas surrounding the canal will in turn lead to demographic changes. The industrialisation will cause a shift from a possibly agrarian population to a population which works in mines and in general “industrial” centres. This will likely in turn also cause changes in the ethnic groups in the region, as immigrant workers may become attracted to the opportunities here, possibly increasing numbers of Irish and Germans in the region. It may also increase the demographics in terms of ages and genders, since these cities will now mainly require strong young men and possibly also boys who can complete tasks such as lifting weights and mining for coal. Porter, an ardent fan of industrialisation, believes that these changes will positively impact the people by creating new jobs and fuelling the economy.

Due to the fact that Porter was, at the time of his speech, a congressman representing a district in western New York state, it is likely that he had a bias towards the people and businesses of his state. The main reason for his advocacy towards the construction of the Erie canal was probably that it would greatly benefit the industries of his state, and the ideals of it positively impacting the Midwest, although true, were likely not his priority and used instead mainly as an argument intended to convince his audience to join his cause. It is clear that he would have wanted government funding for a project which would probably have the greatest impact upon his state – and one part of his reasoning is that the project would not be a risk for the state’s treasury, but would (in the worst possible scenario) cause a slight drop in the money in the federal treasury. It is likely that there were mixed opinions about Porter’s decisions from his constituents. The building of the canal would definitely allow them to gain raw goods, but it also created competition which had been previously non-existent – which Porter may not have predicted. For one part, industrialised cities along the Erie canal could become competition with the factories of western New York. It was cheaper to use raw goods closer to their source in the Midwest than farther away, allowing people in cities along the Erie canal to potentially produce goods for prices smaller than those which were possible for the people from western New York. As well as this, the influence of immigrant workers and strong men into the Erie Canal region (possibly due to the slightly better living conditions than as a worker in New York), meant that New York lost workers and potential workers which could find better opportunities in a different region. Although Porter likely foresaw the positive aspects of this industrialisation along the Erie Canal in supporting the economy, it also had aspects which he may not have predicted on the state he was representing. In turn, it is likely that the opinions of his constituents on his establishment of the canal would have varied due to its positive aspects of bringing raw goods to the state quickly and its negative aspects of creating potential competition.