Through a long preliminary period the principal center of
interest was the Potomac Valley, towards whose strategic head
Virginia and Maryland, by river-improvement and road-building,
were directing their commercial routes in amiable rivalry for the
conquest of the Western trade
Through a long preliminary period the principal center of
interest was the Potomac Valley, towards whose strategic head
Virginia and Maryland, by river-improvement and road-building,
were directing their commercial routes in amiable rivalry for the
conquest of the Western trade. Suddenly out from the southern
region of the Middle Atlantic States went the Cumberland National
Road to the Ohio. New York instantly, in her zone, took up the
challenge and thrust her great Erie Canal across to the Great
Lakes. In rapid succession, Pennsylvania and Maryland and
Virginia, eager not to be outdone in winning the struggle for
Western trade, sent their canals into the Alleghanies toward the
Ohio.
