The first European-American settler arrived around 1799. Many migrants arrived in the area from New England and were eager to buy land. Macomb and his partners believed that upstate New York was strategic for prosperous development, as they were depending on the growing trade with Canada across the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. Two factors worked against this: the War of 1812, preceded by the Embargo Act of 1807 (which damaged the upstate economy because trade with Upper Canada was prohibited); and the construction of the Erie Canal in 1824, which enabled transportation between areas accessible to the Great Lakes and New York City. Development and population flowed west.