The Federal Highway Act of 1921 brought many rules to the transportation industry. This result would be the ground work for future rules and regulations that will be brought up over the years. The act has several important parts to it that help support the overall foundation of the nations roads. In addition, the Highway Act impacted the logistics and transportation industry heavily. With the introduction of the Federal Highway Act in 1921 resulted in several regulations being implemented into the nation. This program mandated that the funds be concentrated on roads that were interstate in character and expedited the completion of the highway system (2013). This was a successful program as the national funding was increased to $75 million annually. With this also came a way of raising more money for the whole project. According to the Federal Highway Administration, the first President to sight the Federal gas tax into law was President Hoover (2013.). The regulation has several aspects to it and …show more content…
One of the positive ways was due to the fact that the roads became easier to pass and resulted in goods getting transferred faster and easier. This can be seen in the agricultural industry very quickly. Prior to the construction of roads the only way to get perishable goods from one spot to another quickly and effectively was the railroad system. This resulted in the cost of the goods being higher due to cost the railroad company charged the farmers. The negative to this whole situation is that the industry would be taxed on several aspects as well. This would be in not only the amount of weight they carried, but also the fuel they had to buy to move the goods. Companies could overcome this by charging more and putting more material into each load. I think the regulation was a very important aspect to the development of our
This in turn helped create jobs and encourage farmers to either plant crops or not to plant crops. Even though farmers received subsidies from the government, so much was produced that there became a huge surplus. This led to major trade with foreign countries and transformed American society and government.
This had farmers in distress, for they were losing more money than they were making. Farmers’ incomes were low, and in order to make a profit on what they produced, they began to expand the regions in which they sold their products. This was facilitated through the railroads, by which through a series of grants from the government as contracted in the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, were made possible; which latter lead to the boom of rail roads in 1868-1873.... ... middle of paper ...
Throughout the book Tom Lewis goes back and forth between the good and bad that came about from building highways. While the paved roads connected our country, made travel time faster, provided recreation, and pushed the development of automobiles they also created more congestion and travel time, divided communities, and made us slaves to automobiles. The author is critical of the highways, but he does realize the great achievement it is in the building of America. Lewis said, “As much as we might dislike them, we cannot escape the fact that ...
Railroads first appeared around the 1830’s, and helped the ideas of Manifest Destiny and Westward expansion; however, these were weak and didn’t connect as far as people needed, thus causing them to be forced to take more dangerous routes. On January 17th, 1848, a proposal was sent to Congress by Asa Whitney to approve and provide federal funding...
The developments in transportation changed the American economy and society from 1820 to 1860 in ways of an increased land value, faster traded goods, new cities, and a deeper sense of nationalism. Before these changes came about, the US economy and society was based on an agrarian setting. After this time frame, American Society turned into a capitalist marketplace. In the northern US, there were few changes in terms of industry because they were involved in an industrial revolution. However, the new Transportation Revolution blasted the West into an agricultural empire that provided consumable exports to the other parts of the country.
The transcontinental railroad would eventually become a symbol of much-needed unity, repairing the sectionalism that had once divided the nation during the Civil War. The construction of the transcontinental railroad was also an extension of the transportation revolution. Once commodities such as gold were found in the western half of America, many individuals decided to move themselves and their families out west in search of opportunity. Not only did the railroad help to transport people, but it also it allowed for goods to be delivered from companies in the east. In the end, the American transcontinental railroad created a national market, enabling mass production, and stimulated industry, while greatly impacting American society through stimulated immigration and urbanization.
Despite the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 being intended primarily for the use of U.S citizens, the first Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1921 was for the purpose of increasing transportation efficiency of the military during and after World War I. Although Woodrow Wilson intended for this purpose, it soon became clear that these roads were beginning to become very popular among normal citizens. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1921 had a relatively limited $75 million budget for improving the roads; this small budget proved to be inadequate for the large project that the United States planned to embark on....
Transportation was a large factor in the market revolution. During the years of 1815 and 1840, there were many forms of improved transportation. Roads, steamboats, canals, and railroads lowered the cost and shortened the time of travel. By making these improvements, products could be shipped into other areas for profit (Roark, 260). Steamboats set off a huge industry and by 1830, more than 700 steamboats were in operating up and down the Ohio and Mississippi River (Roark, 261). Steamboats also had some flaws, due to the fact of deforesting the paths along the rivers. Wood was needed to refuel the power to the boat. The carbon emissions from the steamboats polluted the air (Roark, 261). The building of roads was a major connecting point for states. There were some arguments of who would pay for...
...ecause people were able to travel to nearby towns for care. This enabled growth in communities because the need and want for services began to grow. For towns along a railway there was significant growth, but there were major positive changes for the state as a whole. Transportation development had a major role in the economic expansion of Iowa.
The Transcontinental railroad could be defined as the most monumental change in America in the 19th century. The railroad played a significant role in westward expansion and on the growth and development of the American economy (Gillon p.653). However, the construction of the transcontinental railroad may not have occurred if not for the generous support of the federal government. The federal government provided land grants and financial subsidies to railroad companies to ensure the construction. The transcontinental railroad contributed to the formation of industry and the market economy in America and forever altered the American lifestyle.
The undertaking of a project as large as building a railroad across the expanse of the United States seemed impossible and way too expensive for any railway companies to undertake; therefore, in the early/mid 1800’s, railway companies and business people began approaching legislators in an attempt to convince them to support railroad expansion. This, combined with economic necessity, helped to pass the first of several land grant bills. The bills entailed the gifting of public land to railroad companies in exchange for railroad track being laid in designated areas. The land that was not used for track was then sold. Both railroad companies and the government gained from this. The land where track was laid also became more valuable and the profit that was made from the sale of the land was used to pay for materials and labor to continue the railroad expansion. (Railroad Land Grants).
During this era, there were also new technologies that were used. One of the new improvements was the assembly line. This helped make the workers more efficient, therefore allowing them to make the company more money. Due to the increase of wealth coming to many industries, the country witnessed an increased flow of immigrants who came into the country in search of better jobs and better ways of living. This caused rapid changes in cities which lead to enhanced architectural and transportation features.
Pros: The growth of the railroad led to an increase in efficiency in the transportation of goods, allowing for decreased prices on almost all products that needed to be transported. Furthermore, it created a large number of jobs in mines because of the increased demand for iron to build the railroads.
When our country was at war, the military identified the need for trucks. Trucks were very important because it was difficult to find away to transport all the supplies, troops, and food. After WW1, this brought an increase in good roads plus an expanding economy. This helped grow the trucking industry. The 1920’s were the years of innovation. The balloon tires were introduced along with the rail road’s that were established “piggy-back” service. The first mechanically refrigerated van was introduced. In 1925, there were 500,000 miles of hard surface roads in the U.S. In 1926, a fully loaded 2 ton truck was driven from New York to San Francisco in five days.
Before the industrial revolution, transportation played a huge role in daily life. The only way to make money was to trade goods, but the only method of transportation was the wagon and horse. It took ages to transport from one place to another. Improved technology brought railroads and canals. These made transportation cheaper and 100 times more efficient. This not only made more money but brought jobs when trying to build the railroads. The canals were overcrowded so the government made laws to improve them (“Industrial Revolution” 1). Overall the in...