To improve shipping, the Erie Canal was constructed to connect New York City to the Mississippi River. Appalachian Mountains. Atlantic Ocean. Great Lakes.

Great Lakes.

Explanation:

Before the railroads were built to crisscross and transport goods and people around the United States, canals were the most convenient mode of transport inland as they could transport goods faster than over land.

The Erie Canal was one of the most famous of its day and when completed was the second largest in the world. It was built to connect New York to the Great Lakes. This canal made New York City part of what it is today as it greatly improved the economy.

native americans suffered high rates of poverty and unemployment.

during the late 1960s and early 1970sthe need for political militancy grew among the native americans. throughout the 1960s, they had been the nation's poorest minority group, the most deprived group, according to practically every socioeconomic measure. in 1970, the indian unemployment rate was 10 times the national average, and 40 percent of the native american people were below the poverty line.