The Interstate Highway Act of 1956(National and Defense Highways Act) was one of the largest public efforts that had constructed 41,000 miles of the system over a 10 year period.It was a work that had greatly revolutionized the way the world progresses while also enriching the quality of life for almost every American citizen.This event was important enough to remain in the textbook because socially it made traveling more efficient while also allowing citizens to travel to many more places inexpensively,economically because goods were able to be transported more productively which ultimately allowed many companies to lower transportation/production costs and enhance productivity/profits,higher gas prices due to increased production of cars,and …show more content…
without having to pay out of their budgets.However,more importantly,the efficacy of the highways ultimately helped people travel to their primary activities such as going to work,medical/dental appointments,etc.The ease of traveling and mobility that the highways had to offer still affects America today.In fact,America is now more productive than it used to be for the reason being that the highways have saved many citizens so much time which allows them to do more with less costs.Another factor that had contributed to the social impact is the increase in the use of automobiles.According to an encyclopedia source,by 1919,”the need for a planned system of national highways became discernible with the proliferating common use of cars in the United States”(Source #4).In addition, another source claims that “more than 90 percent of the nation’s households have access to automobiles”(Source #7).As directly indicated by these two sources,automoibles weren’t a luxury,but rather they were true necessities for many.While cars were being produced between 1908 and 1927,specifically that of Henry Ford’s Model T,many people now wanted to travel however needed an effective system that would be able to save them much more time.As a result,these very crucial interstate highways have ultimately expanded
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Show MoreIt changed the time it took to travel from the east coast to the west coast from a few months to a week. This transcontinental rail road brought a more civilized life to the west and helped the surge of immigrants heading west. This rail road also lead to a huge boom in agricultural trade from the national level all the way to the global
In the Saturday Evening Post in October 1956, the Interstate System is described as connecting “209 if the 237 cities having a population of 50,000 or more”, which was considered a huge success in the nation (Document D). People now would be able to escape from their cities if ever needed. Because of this, the threat of nuclear warfare didn’t seem as personal anymore, as people would have been able to get out of their homes in the case of an atomic bomb going
The Interstate Highway System, authorized by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, was a massive infrastructure project that aimed to connect cities and towns across the United States. The system consisted of over 41,000 miles of highways, and it fundamentally changed the way Americans traveled and lived. In this essay, we will explore how the Interstate Highway System transformed America in four key areas: transportation, commerce, suburbanization, and tourism. One of the most significant ways that the Interstate Highway System changed America was by revolutionizing transportation. Before the system was built, traveling long distances by car was slow and treacherous, with many roads in disrepair or unpaved.
No longer was small-town America able to stay insular, and cities within more isolated regions of the country saw growth. As highways grew, so did the number of people traveling on them. The highway has earned a reputation for danger over the years. Murdered hitchhikers and similar crimes lead to a lack of connection between people or fondness for the open road. Highways were not only an opportunity for growth, they were an opportunity for exploitation.
In the early 1800’s, Westward Expansion resulted in the demand for better road systems due to such poor quality. Between local and state governments and other private companies, more than 4,000 miles of turnpikes were built by 1821. In 1806, the National Road is funded by the Federal government; The road was completed in the year 1836.
The Transcontinental Railroad and the Interstate Highway System were not only the two biggest contributions in the history of transportation in the United States but are tremendously similar to each other in how they were built. Both systems were built in times of extremely desperate need of a way of transportation across the country which made them such big advantages to American society. The two systems have been majorly significant tools in the history the United States as well as modern day life. Something that the two topics share is the fact that they were both built during times of great change in the nation and had difficulties in funding.
Beginning with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s inauguration in 1933, the New Deal was passed in the context of reformism and rationalism as the United States proceeded through the Great Depression. The American people looked to the President to instill reform policies to help direct the country out of an economic depression, and thus often sought to abandon the society that existed before the Great Depression. Roosevelt instituted New Deal policies to attempt to combat this period of economic decline, many of which were successful and appealed to the American people’s desires. President Roosevelt’s New Deal is often criticized for being excessively socialistic in nature, thus causing dramatic changes in the fundamental structure of the United
Affected all aspects of Big business, Economy and politics significantly in size. The Aspects of Big business made it very hard in every day life. Altogether food prices, Fuel and lighting prices and the cost of living index all drastically changed over time. It made every day living a challenge. The Rail roads really started to play a gigantic role on our economy.
Railroads carried new and expensive machinery from factories in the East and Midwest to Oregon farmers who in turn became more specialized and profit oriented.” Railroads boosted trade and production by massive numbers. Without railroads, trade would not have been as advanced and farmers would have no way to deliver crops in a quick manner that would provide fresh produce to consumers. One major railroad that is talked about today is the Richmond and Alleghany Railroad. During the building of this railroad, many complications occurred, but no matter the dilemma, they always approached and attempted to fix it, as said in Richmond
The groups of people that were most changed by these new innovations were factory workers, middle-class urban residents, and midwestern farmers. There were many effects that these creations had on these groups of people. These innovations allowed travelling and the transporting of goods to be easily accomplished, made communication between others simpler and more efficient, and allowed for better and safer ways of lighting to be established. Automobiles allowed for travelling and the transporting of goods to be easily accomplished. The creation of the automobile was extremely beneficial for midwestern farmers, middle-class urban residents, and factory workers.
The building of roads, canals and railroads played a large role in the United States during the 1800s. They served the purpose of connecting towns and settlements so that goods could be transported quickly and more efficiently. These goods could be transported fast, cheap and in safe way through the Erie Canal that was built to connect the Great Lakes to New York. Railroads were important during Civil War as well, because it helped in the transportation of goods, supplies and weapons when necessary. These new forms of transportation shaped the United States into the place that it is today.
Throughout American History, revolutions in transportation have affected the American society politically, socially and economically. Soon after the war of 1812, American nationalism increased which leads to a greater emphasis on national issues, the increase in power and prevalence of the national government and a growing sense of the American Identity. Railways, canals, and Turnpikes began to increase making many people employed. The era of 1830-1860 represents a shift from agrarianism to industrialism. Overall, during the transportation revolution, construction of turnpikes, roads, canals, and railroads led to the market economy expansion, an increased population in America and alternations of the physical landscape of America.
Automobiles were affordable and were designed carefully. The majority of these cars were produced by the Ford Motor Company, led by Henry Ford, who designed a different model each year to satisfy the insatiable crowd. Many of the automotive innovations that we think of as being modern—like electric powered cars, four wheel drive, front wheel drive, hybrid fuel and electric cars—were introduced during the 1920s. The automobiles had various different colors in order to get the attention of people, especially woman, and through time, they evolved to become more comfortable to drive for men (Scott ,1). The automobiles were beneficial to the U.S because they expanded the area of habitat.
The Tremendous Impact of Railroads on America In the late 19th century, railroads propelled America into an era of unprecedented growth, prosperity, and convenient transportation. Prior to the building of the railroads, America lacked the proper and rapid transportation to make traveling across the country economical or practical. Lengthy travel was often cumbersome, costly, and dangerous.
Transportation to one place would be easier due to the fact that there are now many ways to get to one specific location. Aside from the positive effects of Moses’s work, there are also a vast amount of negative effects. One negative effect is, many people were evicted from their homes due to his construction. “His Cross Bronx Expressway all but destroyed the life of the borough. It is estimated that during his career Moses caused a quarter of a million people to be evicted from their homes to make way for his highways” (Kunstler, 100).