ABSTRACT
The Aztecs used canals to transport people and goods within Tenochtitlan and outside the city, but on a relatively small scale. Human action in designing and constructing canals for inland transport changed travel in immeasurable ways. The first canals in the United States were based on those in Europe, especially in France, England, and Holland. The American canals built in the 1790s were small in size, took a long time to construct, and were financed by private companies limited in funding. In 1810, the State Senate established a Canal Commission to propose a canal linking the Great Lakes and the Hudson River. The War of 1812 delayed further discussion about a canal, and by 1815 many believed the idea had died. Commercialization of agriculture was possibly the most immediate consequence of the canal-building movement.
