LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the New
York Memorial

WHEREAS, It is the intent of this Legislative Body to recognize the rich
history of the communities across this great State of New York and honor
the individual and collective achievements of New Yorkers; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the 18th and 19th Centuries, American explorers
had long searched for a water route to the west but the lack of an effi-
cient, safe transportation network kept populations and trade largely
confined to coastal areas; and
WHEREAS, At the beginning of the 19th Century, the Allegheny Mountains
were considered the Western Frontier and the Northwest Territories that
would become the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio were
rich in various resources such as timber, minerals, and fertile land for
farming; and
WHEREAS, A flour merchant named Jesse Hawley envisioned a canal from
Buffalo on the eastern shore of Lake Erie to Albany on the upper Hudson
River and published a series of essays which were published in the GENE-
SEE MESSENGER describing the route, costs, and benefits of the Erie
Canal; and
WHEREAS, Assemblyman Joshua Forman submitted the first State legis-
lation for the Erie Canal in 1808 which called for a number of surveys
to examine the practicality of a water route between Lake Erie and the
Hudson River; and
WHEREAS, On March 13, 1810, then State Senator Dewitt Clinton intro-
duced legislation to create a Canal Commission that would direct its
commissioners to survey a route for the Canal which would connect the
Hudson River to the Great Lakes; it was passed in the Senate that same
year; and
WHEREAS, In 1816, as a sitting Canal Commissioner, Senator Clinton
submitted a formal petition to a joint committee of the New York State
Senate and Assembly to create a canal system between the Hudson River
and Lake Erie; and
WHEREAS, This document, known as the New York Memorial, launched a
series of public gatherings in support of the Canal's construction and
began the statewide movement to build the waterway; and
WHEREAS, Over 100,000 New Yorkers would sign the petition accounting
for nearly 10% of the State population at that time; and
WHEREAS, The proud heritage of the Erie Canal begins with the New York
Memorial, which gave New Yorkers the opportunity to express their
support for the Erie Canal project to their State Senators and Members
of the Assembly, which led to legislative approval for the beginning of
construction of the Erie Canal in 1817; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the New York Memorial.