8.6.2
Outline the
physical obstacles to and the economic and political factors involved in
building a network of roads, canals, and railroads (e.g., Henry Clay's American
System).
Obstacles, the problems that one faces when trying to achieve a goal, is what hindered the creation of roads,
canals, and railroads in the United States of America. An example of this
was the American System, devised by the Kentucky politician by the name of Henry
Clay. Henry Clay had exceptional speaking skills and other talents and
also ambitious dreams, which he used to work himself up the social ladder from
being an average person in Virginia to a wealthy Kentucky politician. His
plan called for several different components that would work together.
First, a National Bank needed to be established in order to regulate trade and
promote a single currency. It also demanded high tariffs to protect
American industries from foreign competition and jumpstart the US economy.
This would supply the government with enough money to create a system of road,
canals, and railroads to connect the nation together. These means of
transportation would also promote trade and wealthy businesses in the North
could by more agricultural products from the South, which could be shipped up
the new roads. There was much controversy over Henry Clay’s American
System, especially from the South. The American System promoted high
tariffs on foreign goods and it was foreign goods that people in the South
mainly purchased. Also, many people like former president Thomas Jefferson
believed that the system was made to make the already wealthy businesses in the
North even richer. These are examples of some of the political
obstacles. Because most of the American System didn’t go into effect, like
the high tariffs, not enough revenue could be generated to fund more
transportation and in the end, Henry Clay’s American System never fully went
into effect.
Many of the rivers in the Eastern United States flowed North to South instead of East and West, the
direction most travelers wanted to go. Many of the rivers were also very
hard to travel on since the currents were so strong when traveling upstream and
only a few vessels could do so, like the Clermont Steamboat. Canals
also became very popular since they connected important bodies of water together
for boat travel and also solved the problem of river direction.
Construction for a National Road had begun in 1806, before the time Henry Clay
announced his American System in 1824, but construction was halted during the
two years that the War of 1812 was fought. By the mid-1800s, the National
Road connected many of the states together – including those west of the
Appalachians. Turnpikes, or toll roads, helped to pay for the cost of
building the roads, solving some of the economic problems. Trains and
railroads were still developing during the early 1800s and there were a few
horse-drawn trains at the time, but advancements were occurring rapidly.
Some people tried to build railroads, but were stopped because of budget
problems, such as John Stevens who tried to build a railroad across the state of
New Jersey. In 1850, Congress started to give land to the railroads.
Many settlers from all over used these railroads for their transportation needs
and because of its instant success, continued to grant more lands for the
development of the railroads. In return, the railroad companies discounted
rates for government officials and US mail.
More Information:
1.
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761566041
Provides a brief biography of the politician Henry Clay.
2.
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/B/hclay/hclay.htm
Displays a more detailed version of the Henry Clay biography.
3.
http://franklaughter.tripod.com/cgi-bin/histprof/misc/railroads.html
Provides a brief history of railroads and the invention of trains.
Recommended Books:
1.
American Reformers 1815-1860
by R. G. Walters
2.
Oneida: Utopian Community to Modern Corporation
by Maren Lockwood Carden