I'm not saying that's a bad analogy. Not at all.
An interesting fact, though, is that the Great Wall of China was built with slave labor, with conscripts consisting of every male between fifteen and sixty. It is estimated that for every mile of the Great Wall that was constructed, there were over a hundred deaths through overwork, starvation, and malnutrition.
For the Chinese Grand Canal, the toll was even higher.
See how easy it is to forget all about the Can-Am border?
Come ON now!