https://www.mormonishpodcast.org/episod ... -mormonism
There are two very significant, in my opinion, influences that they entirely overlooked:
1) Although they talked about how the Erie Canal brought books into the Palmyra region (and commented on how prohibitively expensive those books were) they failed to mention the massive influx of cheap unauthorized printings of books that would have been otherwise unaffordable to most people. One of these was Adam Clarke's Bible Commentary, which suddenly became widely available for 25 cents per volume.
2) I believe the Erie Canal packet boats were the direct inspiration for the Jaredite barges. They were:
-Fully enclosed (tight like a dish)
-light on the water
-peaked at both ends
-length of a tree
-designed to carry groups of people and supplies long distances
-some pack boats were designed to carry animals, and were even employed as floating zoos.
The main difference was the absence of windows in the Jaredite barges, which the author goes to great lengths to explain.
