The Development of Transportation Infrastructure in 19th Century America

2. Public vs. Private: The Internal Improvements Debate. In 1800, the United States was geographically large but with a small population.Other than population centers, much of the infant United States was largely uninhabited. The vast expanses of wilderness made transportation difficult in a time before railroads.In 1808, Secretary of State Albert Gallatin issued Report on Roads, Canals, Harbours, and Rivers, a paper which advocated the construction of a national system of transportation infr29

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