The canal costed around seven million dollars to complete this project but the cost was regained throughout the years of the canal. The canal not only produced money off of administering rides throughout America but many businesses were built up right next to the canal. Cleary stated in the third picture and quote, "The view shows the surrounding business section of the city Lockport."(Picture 3) The Erie Canal also influenced trade a great deal. In a reliable, primary it is stated, "The trade of almost all the lakes in North America, the most of which flowing through the canal would center at New York for their common mart."(Jesse Hawley, The Genesee Messenger 1808) The profit that was made by the Erie Canal was an extraordinary amount of money. In the second chart it is shown how much the Erie Canal profited. It shows the growths and decreases that canal made. The canal profited about 450,000 million dollars and the amount of money varied throughout the years. (Chart two, secondary) The canal increased the amount of trade that was centered in the middle of New York. The Erie Canal changed America by changing the economic growth and how trade was able to happen