History of the Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal was a byproduct of the war of 1812. It may not have been built during the war, but it was initially built as a military supply route protected from American intervention. Although it was the brainchild of military strategists, the building of the Rideau Canal also permanently changed the economy of the surrounding regions for the better. Not only did the new canal provide the necessary military supply route in case of a repeat of the War of 1812, it presented the community's social and economic situations with a means of stability and growth. The Canal provided this stability in many ways. It provided a means of economic expansion, was a floodgate for settlement, and brought about new and advanced techniques. While much of the fighting in the War of 1812 was on land, it was accompanied by naval warfare on the Great Lakes, especially Lake Ontario. Robert Legget, a historian of some note, states that "It was naval superiority which enabled General Isaac Brock to gain his victories in 1812 and the corresponding lack of naval strength in lake Erie which led to the loss in 1813 of the western part of Upper Canada . . . this directed attention to the vulnerable position of Kingst
While there was a considerable depression in 1836-37 which seriously cut into the early development of commercial traffic, by 1840 the effects of this economic setback had disappeared and commercial traffic really began to increase. After the decision was made to make the Rideau canal an actuality rather than an proposal, the next problem was who would build it. Lockwood, SMITHS FALLS, A Social History of the Men and Women in a Rideau Canal Community 1794-1994. During the time of the opening of the Rideau Canal, trade was still almost entirely by water. Sixth Edition (Waterloo, ON: Wilfred Laurier University Press, 1979) 11. , SMITHS FALLS, A Social History of the Men and Women in a Rideau Canal Community 1794-1994. "American Rideau Canal Studies" Canadian Geographic 16:3 (Autumn 1986) pg.
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Acceptance Essays
