Gerry Battersby, a political science major at Albion College, participated in the fall 2012 ACM Newberry Seminar: Research in the Humanities in Chicago. In his research paper, he analyzed the economic evolution of the Great Lakes region following the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 and the establishment of railroads in the 1850s, particularly the role played by regional businessmen/entrepreneurs in Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Buffalo.
