The iconic waterway established settlement patterns for most of the United States during the 19th century, made New York the financial capital of the world, provided a critical supply line which helped the North win the Civil War, and precipitated a series of social and economic changes throughout a young America.

The "Canal Age" of the 18th and 19th centuries fundamentally transformed society by enabling the Industrial Revolution. Before canals, transporting heavy goods like coal, iron, and pottery by horse-drawn wagon was slow and incredibly expensive. When the first major canals (like the Bridgewater Canal) opened, the price of coal dropped by 50% almost overnight, making it affordable for the masses to heat their homes and for factories to power steam engines. This led to "Canal Mania," which created a new labor class known as "Navvies" (navigators)—tough laborers who moved across the country to dig the waterways. Socially, canals connected rural areas to sea ports, allowing for the first "national" market for fresh goods. However, they also displaced farmers and changed the landscape forever. While the arrival of railways eventually made them obsolete for speed, canals laid the groundwork for modern logistics and moved the population from the countryside into the newly "industrialized" cities.