In many ways, America’s supremacy today is a by-product of the nation’s infrastructure; it is the cornerstone of how America has advanced and prospered.
From George Washington to Joe Biden, Presidents have recognized the importance of building and maintaining basic nationwide public services and facilities.
One author notes that “Throughout history, sound infrastructure has been the hallmark of great civilizations. It connects people and groups and facilitates the exchange of goods.” From the Roman aqueducts to the ancient trade routes of China’s Silk Road, leaders have understood that essential communal structures and resources are the foundation of vibrant societies.
According to an article by Adam White in The New Atlantis, the provision of widespread essential services “has haunted the nation since its inception.” Publicly funded housing has experienced several swings since the country initially focused on roads and canals.
While George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson all recognized that the new republic needed a transportation network, the sage of Monticello and his political party believed that the constitution prohibited funding for internal improvements.
It took many decades of vigorous Congressional debate and Presidential input before an approach to funding these ventures emerged. A partnership of private and public underwriting, using several novel methods of injecting federal funds and overseeing projects, became the template.
In 1806, Jefferson signed the first large-scale infrastructure initiative. The state highway was built connecting Cumberland, Maryland to the Ohio River. It was the main route for settlers to reach the burgeoning western part of the country. An article in Highway History notes that “it was celebrated in song, painting, story and poetry.” In the 1840s, thousands traveled in covered wagons and stagecoaches on its way to the new frontier.
Today it is known as Route 40.
To encourage trade, the early chief executives encouraged the construction of canals to connect the inland regions with the larger coastal cities. Washington himself set up a company to improve the Potomac River’s accessibility for barges. Several small water passages were later completed along the Ohio River, eventually forming a shipping canal from Pittsburgh to New Orleans.
The Erie Canal opened in 1825 and was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic to the Great Lakes.
The 363-mile line ran between the Hudson River in Albany, New York and Lake Erie in Buffalo. It opened up the land beyond the Appalachia. Both the time and cost of shipping to the west have been greatly reduced. It was a highly successful venture that served as a catalyst for a nationwide boom in canal construction that began during the tenure of John Quincy Adams.
Despite some reluctance about the constitutionality of federal subsidies, Andrew Jackson has been a proponent of internal improvements, particularly in the growing West. More funds were dedicated to public works during his tenure than any other antebellum president.
The opening of canals revived the economies of the inland areas, but when a national financial downturn hit in the late 1830s, “plans to build new, costly canals were scrapped. This was also the time when the railroad was being prepared for its coming of age,” according to a Smithsonian article.
Connecting isolated small towns to previously unavailable larger markets, trains became the backbone of America’s explosive industrial development.
In 1850, President Millard Fillmore signed legislation supporting railroads through federal land grants. In 1862, after years of debate over the appropriate route for a transcontinental rail line, construction began with Abraham Lincoln’s signature on the Pacific Railway Act. It was completed with a gold spike at Promontory Summit in Utah in 1869.
Not all companies needed public support.
When oil first came to market as a fuel, it was brought to market by rail and road. The high transport costs drove the oil companies to build their own pipelines.
They created a new genre of infrastructure without government subsidies, but it had a downside: the formation of powerful corporate monopolies. Ultimately, Trustbuster Teddy Roosevelt managed to regulate oil companies and their pipelines through the newly formed Interstate Commerce Commission. His approach became the generic model for obtaining new public services: private companies would run projects and federal agencies would regulate them.
By 1900, America’s infrastructure boom in the 19th century pushed the nation’s monetary activity past Britain. This was followed by a period of government spending cuts on domestic facilities. During this hiatus there were two notable exceptions: the states and federal government began funding road construction together, and Herbert Hoover was instrumental in the construction of the Colorado River dam that was named after him.
To quell unemployment during the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal created jobs that bolstered aspects of the national infrastructure, such as B. Expanding the power grid to underserved rural communities.
The rise in automobile use after World War II increased the need for new roads. Dwight Eisenhower’s introduction of an interstate highway system in 1956 resulted in turnpikes that now stretch 46,000 miles across the country.
According to one report, Ike’s transportation plan marked the end of an era in which presidents and the federal government could “quickly plan, fund, and execute large infrastructure programs.” Over the next half-century, new regulations aimed at reducing the environmental impact of planned projects took center stage. In several cases, these new rules led to litigation, resulting in long delays and fewer completed projects.
By the beginning of the 21st century, many roads, bridges and transportation systems had fallen into disrepair. The trillion-dollar bipartisan law passed by Congress and signed into law by Joe Biden in 2021 directs money to states and local governments to modernize these facilities.
Almost every presidential administration has tried to improve the country’s infrastructure. Hopefully, future supreme commanders will continue the process.
Stolz is a resident of James City County.
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