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Document 13 – |
Letter from W.F. Thornton to William Gooding
Concerning |
December 20, 1839 |
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Transcription Springfield Decr. 20th 1839 William Gooding Esqr |
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Principal Engr &c Sir, The accompanying Re= solution of the Ho: of Reps., calling for the probable amount of damages that would result from a suspension of operations on the Canal, must be answered as early as accurate information can be collected. You will therefore instruct the Resident and assistant Engineers to ascertain immediately the value of investments made by the Contractors; and you will please give yourown opinion, at large, together with all facts touching the enquiry.
Very Respectfully |
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Despite the Panic of 1837 and subsequent national and international economic depression, work on the canal continued unabated through 1839 and beyond. The entire line was in progress in 1838 with the only exceptions being twenty-two miles between Dresden and Marseilles and a mile stretch through the Saganaskee Swamp. By the end of 1839 nearly three million dollars had been expended for canal purposes. Most of this money had been raised on credit. Receipts from canal land sales had brought less than a half million dollars. Negotiated loans totaled nearly two million and canal scrip issued in 1839 amounted to another $616,870.70.
Toward the end of 1839 the General Assembly was experiencing some unease over the financial condition of the canal project. The state, with some aid from the federal government, had invested nearly three million dollars in an unfinished hole in the ground. Only a finished canal capable of generating tolls afforded the opportunity to recoup that expenditure. But a finished canal was going to require an even greater investment.
An act passed by the General Assembly in 1837 provided for moving the state capitol from Vandalia to Springfield. Temporary quarters were occupied there in mid-1839. An elaborate new Capitol Building was opened in late 1840.
What was the General Assembly’s House of Representatives trying to determine?
Why was the House seeking this determination?
What would "a suspension of operations on the Canal" have done to the price of canal lands? Why?
Why was W.F. Thornton, president of the board of canal commissioners, in Springfield on December 20, 1839?
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