Overview

The National Road is a comprehensive history of the first federally financed interstate highway, an approximately 600-mile span that joined Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois in the nineteenth century. This book covers the road's contribution to the cultural, economic, and administrative history of the United States, its decline during the second half of the nineteenth century, and its revival in the twentieth century in the form of U.S. Route 40. The story of the National Road embraces an account of its building, its constitutional significance, the unique culture that it represented, the movements and trends that transpired across its route, and the symbolic value that it held, and continues to hold, for the American people. Beyond its status as an American heritage symbol, it serves as a forceful reminder that the United States must continue to pursue the goal of sustainable national investment that began with the National Road and comparable projects during the early republic.

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9781611494891

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Reviews

Ted Sky's book on the Historic National Road is an important contribution to the National Road Heritage Corridor's work of preserving the history and heritage of this important transportation artifact. The book's focus on the historical, constitutional, and economic significance of the road's construction and maintenance during the early part of the Nineteenth Century will be exceedingly valuable to students of that period. -- Donna Holdorf, Executive Director, National Road Heritage Corridor Roads connect people, and a national road can unite a country. The significance of extending and linking an expanding nation, along with the debate surrounding the extent and suitability of public involvement in the planning and financing of such a road in the US, are compelling stories that reveal much about not just literally the path but also the pace of American economic and political development. Sky (law, Catholic Univ.) has written an interesting, thorough history of this significant early national internal improvement--the National Road. Initially authorized in 1806 by Thomas Jefferson, by 1839 it would ultimately stretch more than 600 miles across six states from Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois. This systematic, detailed study examines and deconstructs some of the legislative and constitutional debates while also providing insight into the constructive and engineering complexities in the thoroughfare's design and operation. As an instrument of national unity and identity, the National Road had cultural, political, and economic significance. As this history demonstrates, its story remains relevant as the antecedent of the continuing debates around public investment strategies; as such, this study will benefit undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and faculty. Summing Up: Recommended. Academic, research, and public library collections. * CHOICE *

Ted Sky's book on the Historic National Road is an important contribution to the National Road Heritage Corridor's work of preserving the history and heritage of this important transportation artifact. The book's focus on the historical, constitutional, and economic significance of the road's construction and maintenance during the early part of the Nineteenth Century will be exceedingly valuable to students of that period. -- Donna Holdorf, Executive Director, National Road Heritage Corridor Roads connect people, and a national road can unite a country. The significance of extending and linking an expanding nation, along with the debate surrounding the extent and suitability of public involvement in the planning and financing of such a road in the US, are compelling stories that reveal much about not just literally the path but also the pace of American economic and political development. Sky (law, Catholic Univ.) has written an interesting, thorough history of this significant early national internal improvement--the National Road. Initially authorized in 1806 by Thomas Jefferson, by 1839 it would ultimately stretch more than 600 miles across six states from Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois. This systematic, detailed study examines and deconstructs some of the legislative and constitutional debates while also providing insight into the constructive and engineering complexities in the thoroughfare's design and operation. As an instrument of national unity and identity, the National Road had cultural, political, and economic significance. As this history demonstrates, its story remains relevant as the antecedent of the continuing debates around public investment strategies; as such, this study will benefit undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and faculty. Summing Up: Recommended. Academic, research, and public library collections.  * CHOICE *

Ted Sky's book on the Historic National Road is an important contribution to the National Road Heritage Corridor's work of preserving the history and heritage of this important transportation artifact. The book's focus on the historical, constitutional, and economic significance of the road's construction and maintenance during the early part of the Nineteenth Century will be exceedingly valuable to students of that period. -- Donna Holdorf, Executive Director, National Road Heritage Corridor Roads connect people, and a national road can unite a country. The significance of extending and linking an expanding nation, along with the debate surrounding the extent and suitability of public involvement in the planning and financing of such a road in the US, are compelling stories that reveal much about not just literally the path but also the pace of American economic and political development. Sky (law, Catholic Univ.) has written an interesting, thorough history of this significant early national internal improvement--the National Road. Initially authorized in 1806 by Thomas Jefferson, by 1839 it would ultimately stretch more than 600 miles across six states from Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois. This systematic, detailed study examines and deconstructs some of the legislative and constitutional debates while also providing insight into the constructive and engineering complexities in the thoroughfare's design and operation. As an instrument of national unity and identity, the National Road had cultural, political, and economic significance. As this history demonstrates, its story remains relevant as the antecedent of the continuing debates around public investment strategies; as such, this study will benefit undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and faculty. Summing Up: Recommended. Academic, research, and public library collections. CHOICE

Author Information

Theodore Sky is distinguished lecturer at Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America.

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