How New York Became America's Largest City

赵文彬

在18世纪，纽约仅仅是美国的第三大城市。但是今天，它却成为了美国第一大城市。这其中除了有其历史的原因以外，还有地理因素和经济原因。下面就让我們了解一下纽约的发展史。

In the 18th century New York was smaller than Philadelphia and Boston. Today it is the largest city in America. How can the change in its size and importance be explained？

To answer this question we must consider certain facts about geography， history， and

economics.

About 1815， when many Americans from the east coast had already moved toward the west， trade routes from the ports to the central regions of the country began to be a serious problem. The slow wagons （四轮马车） of that time were too expensive for moving heavy goods very far. Americans had long admired Europe's canals （运河）. In New York State a canal seemed the best solution to the transportation problem. Then the Erie Canal was constructed. After several years of work it was completed in 1825.

The canal produced an immediate effect. Transportation costs were cut to about one-tenth of what had been. New York City， which had been smaller than Philadelphia and Boston， quickly became the leading city of the coast. In the years that followed， transportation routes on the Great Lakes were joined to routes on the Mississippi River. Then New York City became the end point of a great inland shipping system that extended from the Atlantic Ocean far up the western branches of the Mississippi.

The coming of the railroads made canal shipping less important， but it tied New York even more closely to the central regions of the country. It was easier for people in the central states to ship their goods to New York for export overseas.

Exports from New York were greater than imports. Therefore， shipping companies were eager to fill their ships with passengers on the return trip from Europe. Passengers could come from Europe very cheaply as a result.

Thus New York became the greatest port for receiving people from European countries. Many of these people remained in the city. Others stayed in New York for a few weeks， months， or years， and then moved to other parts of the United States. For these great number of new Americans New York had to provide homes， goods， and services. Their labour helped the city become great.