B. How New York Became America’s Largest City

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. Together these three will explain the huge growth of_America’s most famous city.

The map of the Northeast shows that four of the most populated areas in this region are around seaports. At these points materials from across the sea enter the United States, and the products of the land are sent there for export across the sea.

Economists know that the places where transportation lines meet are good places for making raw materials into finished goods. That is why seaports often have cities nearby. But cities like New York needed more than their geographical location in order to become great industrial centers. Their development did not happen simply by_chance.

About 1815, when many Americans from the east coast had already moved toward the west, trade routs from the ports to the central regions of the country began to be a serious problem. The slow wagons of that time, drawn by horses or oxen, were too expensive for moving heavy freight very far. Americans had long admired Europe’s canals. In New York State a canal seemed the best solution to the transportation problem. From the eastern end of_Lake Erie all the way across the state to the Hudson River there is a long strip of low land. Here the Erie Canal was constructed. After several years of_work it was completed in 1825.

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 numbers of new Americans New York had to provide homes, goods and services. Their labour helped the city become great.

Exercise 2. Find mistakes in the following sentences if there are any concerning the use of articles. Explain your choice.

Mary Cochran went down out of the house where she lived with her father, the Doctor Lester Cochran, at seven o’clock on Sunday evening. It was June of year nineteen hundred and eight and Mary was eighteen years old. She had told father she was going to a church but didn’t intend doing anything of the kind. Evening was too fine to be spent sitting in stuffy church and having man talk of things that had nothing to do with her own problems. Her own affairs were approaching a crisis and it was the time for her to begin thinking seriously of future.

The matter was that on the evening before without preliminary talk her father had told her that he had the heart disease of which he might die at any moment. Hearing an announcement Mary turned pale and her hand trembled. The doctor tried to reassure her. “There now, don’t worry”, he said hesitatingly. “It’ll likely be all right after all. I have been doctor for thirty years and I know that a man with a disease of heart may live for years. I’ve even heard that the best way to insure long life is to contract disease of heart. I’ve told you about the disease for one reason – I will leave a little money and you must start making the plans for your future.”