Who Wore It Better? The Future Face of America

Who should be the "face" of the new republic: DeWitt Clinton or George Washington. Both were judged as they navigated the waters of internal improvements in early America.

The “future face of America” that Thomas Jefferson spoke of in 1817 when writing to New York State Governor and Erie Canal champion DeWitt Clinton was one of internal improvements that would transform the early American Republic. He congratulated Clinton on the progress of a canal “…in a state wise enough to see that the common interest is individual interest, and rich enough to pursue it." George Washington had also received encouragement from Jefferson for his Potomac Company canal project but both Clinton and Washington were confronted by major obstacles in their efforts to connect the eastern waters to the new westward expanding nation. Both were successful in the long run in changing the political, economic and physical landscape of the nation; just in different ways.

David Brooks is currently appointed as the Education Director at Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site in Fort Hunter, N.Y. – within the system of sites operated by the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. Schoharie Crossing interprets and preserves the significant history of the Erie Canal and its contributions to the state as well as the nation.  Brooks also sits on the Board of Trustees for the Fulton County Historical Society as well as the Montgomery County Historical Society. 

To learn more about Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, visit their website: https://parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/schohariecrossing/details.aspx or Schoharie Crossing Official Facebook Page