'Rational Exultation': The Erie Canal Celebration.

The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 was an occasion for celebration and a euphoric nationalism that characterized the "Era of Good Feelings." Good feeling became a public power that evinced an enthusiasm for progress and a demonstration of national unity. Cadwallader D. Colden chronicled the event in an official 'Memoir,' commissioned by the Common Council of the City of New York, that compiled the history of the canal's construction and dilated on the significance of the project.