Why did u. s. leaders want to build the erie canal? how did the canal change the u. s.?

1. The construction of the Erie canal will connect several great lakes in the atlantic coast, with the regions of united states New York,Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan), The existance of the canal will make it easier for potential immigrants to  came into United States.

2. Since the cannal make it easier for immigrants to come in, many businesses able to flourish on the relevant states (New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan) because now the region had a huge amount of available workers.  The immigrants also travelled from this region to contribute to the development of several other major cities

Idon’t understand a word going on right now lol