| THE STATE IN THE MARYLAND ECONOMY, 1776-1807 115
ects to improve inland navigation, writes an authority on early
American corporations, " called forth more corporation char-
ters, more other legislative acts and more state support " in
the states as a whole, than any other branch of early private
enterprise."' Maryland was an early leader in this category of
transportation companies. Even before the Revolution Mary-
land and Virginia had discussed the improvement of the Poto-
mac River. Surveys were also made in 1767-68 to find the best
route for a canal connecting the Chesapeake and Delaware
bays.l'2 These projects were put aside during the Revolution.
However the war illustrated the necessity for good transporta-
tion on a larger than local scale.
Several of these projects, which were revived or begun after
the war, were considered by the people of various states to be
of nationwide importance.l13 Such were the hopes entertained
by Marylanders, particularly Baltimoreans, for the Susque-
hanna canal. Before the war Baltimore interests built roads
into the Susquehanna Valley of Pennsylvania to tap the grow-
ing trade of the area. Those Philadelphians who regularly
controlled the government of Pennsylvania had provided little
transportation between the valley and Philadelphia. They
thought, however, that because of Pennsylvania's border trou-
bles with Maryland, their western farmers would be forced to
trade with Philadelphia, but this was not the case. Baltimore's
war boom made it possible for that city to turn to internal
improvements before Philadelphia could."' A commission was
appointed in 1783 by the General Assembly to view the Sus-
quehanna River in Maryland; if they decided that it could be
cleared of obstructions and be made navigable, they were to
estimate the expenses and make an accurate survey.llg
At the November session of the same year, the commission
reported favorably and " The Proprietors of the Susquehanna
Canal " were incorporated to undertake the project. The mem-
1"- 1 bid., 11, 184.
`x Ibid., 1, 111-16.
" Ibid, 11, 16-17, 137.
`4 James W. Livingood, The Philadelphia-Baltimore Trade Rivalry, 1780-1860
(Harrisburg, Penn., 1947), pp. 4, 16, 9. Only after 1789 did Philadelphia
become
interested in internal improvements and begin connecting Philadelphia and
Cen-
tral Pennsylvania by water and land routes.
118 Md, Sess, 1783 Apr., Resolution No. 17.
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