Mar 18 2009
Burton Folsom Discusses the Failure of the National Road
In an excellent short essay, Dr. Burton Folsom – a renowned historian and economic thinker with whom I am personally acquainted – explains the reasons for the failure of the National Road, one of the first major federal public works projects in United States history, which was virtually defunct by the 1850s. The road’s construction and maintenance were plagued with inefficiency, as decisions about how to build it were made out of political, not technical, considerations. Even the Jefferson administration – which enacted the construction of the road – was not immune from the influence of pressure groups, each trying to get the road to go its own district. Ultimately, the National Road ended up not contributing substantively to westward expansion and settlement, as private roads and railroads were preferred for personal and business travel.
Sincerely,
Gennady Stolyarov II
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