America's First Interstate: The National Road, 1806–1853

by Roger Pickenpaugh

The story of America’s first government-sponsored highway The National Road was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, this 620-mile road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was the main avenue to the West. Roger Pickenpaugh’s comprehensive account is based on detailed archival research into documents that few scholars have examined, including sources from the National Archives, and details the promotion, construction, and use of this crucially important thoroughfare. America’s First Interstate looks at the road from the perspective of westward expansion, stagecoach travel, freight hauling, livestock herding, and politics of construction as the project goes through changing presidential administrations. Pickenpaugh also describes how states assumed control of the road once the US government chose to abandon it, including the charging of tolls. His data-mining approach―revealing technical details, contracting procedures, lawsuits, charges and countercharges, local accounts of travel, and services along the road―provides a wealth of information for scholars to more critically consider the cultural and historical context of the Road’s construction and use. While most of America’s First Interstate covers the early days during the era of stagecoach and wagon traffic, the story continues to the decline of the road as railroads became prominent, its rebirth as US Route 40 during the automobile age, and its status in the present day.

250 pages, Hardcover

Published May 26, 2020

Reviews

[Brandon Creel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really an enjoyable book. Full disclaimer, however, I am a nerd that loves the history of planning, infrastructure, and of course, politics, and here we have it all intersecting together. I have been working my way through presidential biographies as well as other books on early U.S. History, including on the development of the Northwest Territory. This book is a great supplement to these subjects.

We take a lot of things for granted in today’s political world, and that is the primary reason why I sought out this book. Today’s debates in Washington surrounding infrastructure often involve quibbling over details on how many billions of dollars to spend on what types of projects. But there once was a time where domestic spending on infrastructure was a novel and controversial idea. Not just that, but it was viewed as downright unconstitutional to a majority much of the time. It was therefore a surprise that the Anti-Federalist Jefferson, in one of his displays of pragmatism, signed off on the project – though only to have several subsequent administrations hinder future efforts.

Generations have also taken for granted how easy it is to travel from one place to another great distances across the United States. Again, this was not always the case, and it was all the more daunting before the advent of the railroad. Think about it – interstate commerce, mail delivery, travelers, immigrants – up to this point all had to forge through primitive paths, streams and rivers, mud, cultivated fields, and so on. There was a real need to make all this more efficient. However, the challenges did not end with the building of the road. There were ongoing issues of the mode of construction, durability, disrepair, and of course the burgeoning incompetence and corruption that so often pervades public works projects.

The book eventually brings the road to life with a sampling of the cultural flair of the time, all surrounding life on and around the road, and eventually linking the National Road’s former history to the eventual development of the federal highway and interstate system of the twentieth century. Overall, this is a great book to help understand and appreciate this aspect of the early development of the United States.

[Tim Timberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would've liked less details, especially in the beginning, and more analysis of the building of the National Road. The story really continues after 1852, with the afterword quickly following the road through the growth of railroads after the Civil War to the interstate system nearly 100 years later. It wasn't immediately clear from the book if the road did what its early supporters hoped it would. There were themes in the story, but, again, they needed to be more clearly highlighted.