From: Jack D. Drummond
Date: 3/14/00
Time: 12:51:11 AM
Remote Name: 216.59.55.200
During the early nineteenth century the United States underwent an unprecedented period of expansion. New territory was snatched up at an astounding rate, and the population diffused out to fill up all this new space. The existing infrastructure of meager roads made communication and commerce increasingly more difficult in the expanding nation. It was agreed that in order to increase trade and a sense of national unity an improved system of transportation was needed. The first step the federal government took towards improving transportation was the National Road between Cumberland, Maryland and Wheeling, Virginia. This was followed by the construction of several other toll roads linking other critically important areas like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It was expected that the tolls collected on these roads would cover the cost of their construction and maintenance. However, the toll roads ended up being failures because transporters found it difficult and expensive to negotiated the roads. The cost of maintaining wagons and horses, coupled with the high cost of the tolls, prompted transporters to avoid the roads and find alternate ways of shipping. Thusly, the tolls collected were never enough to turn a profit because the roads really only worked for travelers. Transporters relied more on water transportation to ship their goods. A flatboat was the best way to get goods from the North to the South along the Mississippi or one of its many tributaries. Unfortunately, the way back up north had to be negotiated on land through very rough country. However, the development of the steamboat made the trip up north possible through the waterways, greatly increasing commerce. During this period of time many canals were built to facilitate east-west water travel. Unfortunately, like the toll roads before them, many of the canals were abandoned because of increasing development of railroads and the fact that they couldn’t turn a profit. The toll road and canal projects weren’t complete failures in the long run, as it was observed that the canals had “been more useful to the public, than to the owners” by greatly reducing shipping costs and increasing trade. The transportation revolution was important to the development of the American nation because it made it feasible for farmers to grow not only for subsistence but for a stake in the growing market economy as well.