As early as 1824 the Federal government promoted improvements along the shoals through the transfer to the State of Alabama 400,000 acres of federally owned land to be sold to private citizens for the construction of a system of canals on the Tennessee River at the Muscle Shoals.  Although construction began in 1831 and was completed in 1836, the canals never provided a clear path around the shoals.  This failure did not end national interest in the region as a center for economic growth and attracted interest from some of the nation’s most prominent citizens.