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History of turnpikes and canals in the United States
The history of turnpikes and canals in the United States dates to work accomplished and attempted in the original thirteen colonies, predicated on European technology and its attendant advancement of commerce known before the American Revolutionary War. With their victory and independence, the fledgling federal government found itself sovereign over an area stretching along the Atlantic seaboard from New Hampshire to Georgia, and as far inland as the Mississippi River; it encompassed an area exceeding that of any western European nation of the time, with which it intended to trade, but without a competitive national infrastructure. While the coasting trade was relatively developed, the nation possessed limited transportation and communication lines with its interior, other than its recognized and exceptionally advantageous interior river systems and their interconnecting portages. With state sovereignty already established under the Confederation in the original states, for their new lands the Congress of the Confederation would set new precedent with the Northwest Ordinance concerning ownership of the lands, with known transportation routes as "common highways and forever free."〔s:Northwest Ordinance. Art. 4:"The navigable waters leading into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between the same, shall be common highways and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of the said territory as to the citizens of the United States, and those of any other States that may be admitted into the confederacy, without any tax, impost, or duty therefor."〕 The need for internal improvements of these internal natural resources was widely recognized then; seen in a similar developmental light more than a century later, the preliminary report of the Inland Waterways Commission in 1908 provides a unique perspective on historical events. It notes: "The earliest movement toward developing the inland waterways of the country began when, under the influence of George Washington, Virginia and Maryland appointed commissioners primarily to consider the navigation and improvement of the Potomac; they met in 1785 in Alexandria and adjourned to Mount Vernon, where they planned for extension, pursuant to which they reassembled with representatives of other States in Annapolis in 1786; again finding the task a growing one, a further conference was arranged in Philadelphia in 1787, with delegates from all the States. There the deliberations resulted in the framing of the Constitution, whereby the thirteen original States were united primarily on a commercial basis —the commerce of the times being chiefly by water."〔 〕
In the first twenty years, even as the population grew westward crossing the Appalachian Mountains with the admission of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio and then doubled in size by 1803, the only means of transportation between the interior lands and the coastal states remained on water, by canoe, boat (e.g. keelboat flatboat) and ship, or over land on foot and by pack animal. Recognizing the success of Roman roads in unifying that empire, political and business leaders in the United States began to construct roads and canals to connect the disparate parts of the nation.
==Toll roads==
Early toll roads were constructed between some commercial centers and were owned by joint-stock companies that sold stock to raise construction capital, like Pennsylvania's 1795 Lancaster Turnpike Company. While transportation needs were universally recognized, in 1808 Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin's ''Report on the Subject of Public Roads and Canals'' suggested that the federal government should fund the construction of interstate turnpikes and canals, but many Anti-Federalists opposed the federal government assuming such a role. The British coastal blockade in the War of 1812 and an inadequate internal capability to respond, demonstrated the United States' reliance upon such overland roads for military operations as well as for general commerce. Construction on the westward National Road began in 1815 at Cumberland, Maryland and it reached Wheeling, Virginia by 1818; by 1824 private tollways connected Cumberland eastward with commercial and port cities. Further westward extensions were constructed to Vandalia, Illinois, but financial crisis ultimately prevented its planned western extension to the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Nevertheless, the road became a primary overland route over the Appalachian Mountains and the gateway for the surge of westward-bound settlers and immigrants, which followed these continental wars.
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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