The Erie Canal opened on October 26, 1825, linking Buffalo on Lake Erie to Albany and New York City via the Hudson. Built by hand over eight years, it was mocked as Clinton's big ditch, but freight rates from Lake Erie to New York fell from about $100 a ton to under $9. That made New York the main gateway to the West and let Midwestern farm goods reach Atlantic markets cheaply. The cheaper travel also helped spread the Second Great Awakening revivals along the route.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.