Nye 7
roads to bind the nation together--didn't work
background on:
Fight over whether the federal government should pay for
roads or canals
- before 1900 the federal government didn't have much money
- main source of federal government funds was tariffs on
imports--should those be increased to fund internal
improvements to benefit trade?
- the south was more dependent on overseas trade
- Erie canal proved the benefits of canals for economic
growth
Railroads
- at first it wasn't clear they were superior to canals
- transportation systems came to be described as part of a
divine plan
- but railroads can change the natural patterns of trade
- new towns created rapidly where the railroad ran
- great popular excitement over the transcontinental
railroad
Evolution of the myth, the sense of destiny, in
transportation
- God gave us convenient rivers
- we can modify the rivers for our convenience with canals
- God put this gap in the mountains so a canal could go
through it
- God intended that we build railroads to have
transportation everywhere--if nature isn't convenient we can
modify it for our convenience
Why do people make these myths
- to counter arguments from others
- to glorify something when there is a celebration
- to make it a part of the larger story of what makes
America great