Inventions that changed how goods and people moved

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   The Erie Canal and its rivals, 1820 to 1860 (cards A to D; summaries in our words from the New York State Archives teaching site, "Historical Context: Erie Canal Freight," by F. Daniel Larkin). Card A, costs and times: before the canal, Genesee Valley wheat took 20 days to reach Albany by wagon, at $100 a ton. Once the canal was done, a ton of wheat could go all the way to New York City in 10 days for $5. Card B, cargo: in 1825 about 185,000 tons moved east on the canal, including wheat, flour, whiskey and lumber, and only 32,000 tons moved west, mainly manufactured goods. By 1860 the totals were 1,896,975 tons east and 379,000 tons west. Card C, money: The canal opened in sections, the first in service by 1820, and New York began collecting tolls that year to help pay the $7,500,000 construction cost. Tolls were $28,000 in 1820 and, four years later, $300,000 from 10,000 boats. Tolls ended in 1882; by then nearly $121 million had come in. In 1862, the peak year, more than $4,500,000 was collected. Card D, rivals: the state-owned canal faced competition from railroads. The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, New York's first, opened in 1831. When the Utica and Schenectady Railroad opened in 1836, running beside the canal for its whole 78 miles, the legislature forbade it to carry freight. As more railroads were built, attitudes changed, and by the 1850s the legislature had removed the restrictions.

2. 1.

   Card C summarizes the state's toll records. What is it best evidence for, Jun asks?

   • Whether railroads later replaced the canal as the main route
   • What the canal's builders said about their plans in 1817
   • How much the canal earned for New York State through tolls
   • How much each family along the canal earned in a year
3. 2.

   Card A: wagons cost $100 a ton to reach Albany; the canal cost $5 to reach New York City. The canal's price was what share of the wagon price, Pia asks?

   • Half, or 50 percent, even for a longer trip
   • One twentieth, or 5 percent, for a longer trip
   • $95 more by canal, though the trip was longer
   • One fifth, or 20 percent, even for a longer trip
4. 3.

   Card B: in 1825 about 185,000 tons went east and 32,000 west; in 1860, 1,896,975 east and 379,000 west. How did the westbound share change, Bo asks?

   • About 50 percent in 1825 and about 50 percent in 1860
   • About 15 percent in 1825 and about 17 percent in 1860
   • About 1.5 percent in 1825 and about 1.7 percent in 1860
   • Westbound was the larger share in both 1825 and 1860
5. 4.

   Which chain from cards A and B best explains why more tons moved east than west, Milo asks?

   • The canal carried cheap farm goods east, while manufactured goods went west
   • Railroads carried goods east after 1850, so the canal had more tons
   • Manufactured goods moved east in bulk, so many more tons went east than west
   • Wagons were cheaper than the canal, so most goods went east by wagon instead
6. 5.

   A student says: "The canal paid for itself." How strong is that claim, given card C, Zee asks?

   • Weak: tolls began at just $28,000 in the first year, too little to count
   • Proven: it earned $121 million in pure profit, with each cost already paid back by its tolls
   • Strong on tolls: $121 million came in against $7.5 million to build, but upkeep is unknown
   • Weak: tolls were charged for just the first year, so the total is small
7. 6.

   Cards A and C both bear on the canal's success. How do they fit together, Kira asks?

   • They cannot fit together, since one card gives prices and the other card gives tolls
   • Rising tolls made shipping cheaper, which then drew more boats to the canal
   • Cheaper, faster shipping drew more boats and opened more sections, so tolls rose
   • Card A shows that tolls alone had paid back the whole cost of building by 1824
8. 7.

   Card D covers 1831 to the 1850s. What changed in how New York treated railroads, Ren asks?

   • It first banned freight on a line beside the canal, then lifted the limits
   • Railroads had completely replaced the canal as the state's main route by 1840
   • It banned the Mohawk and Hudson from opening in 1831 and kept the ban
   • The state first welcomed the new railroads, then banned them in the 1850s
9. 8.

   A student says: "Wagons disappeared once the canal opened." How strong is that claim, given card A, Noah asks?

   • Weak: card A compares costs on one route, not whether wagons ended
   • Strong: card A shows the canal cost one twentieth of what wagons cost
   • Weak: card A says the canal was slower than wagons, so wagons stayed
   • Strong: card D says wagon owners went out of business after 1825
10. 9.

    Card C says about $121 million in tolls came in over the 62 years tolls were charged. About how much was that per year, Ari asks?

    • Nothing can be found, since averages hide the important details of any set of numbers
    • About $2 million a year on average, though it hides the early and peak years
    • About $20 million a year, spread evenly over the 62 years that tolls were charged
    • About $121 million a year, since that is the total toll income on card C
11. 10.

    Which new evidence would best test whether the canal helped New York City's port grow, Luz asks?

    • A modern article that says the canal helped New York City's port
    • A list of the canal's toll income by year, taken from 1820 until the 1880s
    • Port records of ships and cargo at New York City before and after 1825
    • A map of the railroad lines across New York in the 1880s