Folks didn't believe that a canal connecting the Hudson River with the Great Lakes could ever be built. But a young Politician, De Witt Clinton, had vision. He knew "Clinton's Ditch" was more than possible: It was a necessary way to link East Coast ports to the frontier. <P>Join Cheryl Harness on an animated journey into history, beginning with the Erie Canal's groundbreaking ceremony on the Fourth of July, 1817. Celebrating the mood of post-war America, she uses an engaging text and distinctive panoramic watercolors, including detailed maps of the route, to describe a massive engineering feat and make the pageantry of the Erie Canal's grand opening come alive. <P>It was America's first superhighway.