How does the geographic location of New York state make it a natural link for trade between New England, and the other states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Michigan?

"The Erie Canal was first opened in 1825. It was significant because it connected Lake Erie and the Great Lakes system to the Hudson River, and thereby gave the western states direct access to the Atlantic Ocean without shipping goods downstream on the Mississippi River to New Orleans."

Explanation:

utilized the penal colony

(b) britain had a much larger navy than the u.s.

(d) the u.s. had a small army compared to britain.