America was built by innovation and technology — period. Between 1793 and 1815 the American farmer increased the exportation of foodstuffs to Europe, which was in ruin because of the Napoleonic Wars. This led to the realization that Americans could transport one ton of goods across the Atlantic Ocean for $9, but could transport this same ton of goods only a distance of 30 miles by land.
Letter: Innovation and technology built America | Letters
In 1816, a Senate Committee report led President James Madison to stress “the great importance of establishing throughout our country the roads and canals which can best be executed under national authority.” This created a rush to build new a new national infrastructure, a network of roads, canals and railroads.
Toward this end, New York State built the 350-mile-long Erie Canal, linking the Great Lakes with the Hudson River. This led Ohio to build two all-water links from Lake Erie to the Ohio River. Soon after, these waterways linked to the Mississippi River and these new waterways were filled with the new steamboats to transport goods and people.
The City of Baltimore launched the B&O Railroad to funnel agricultural products from the west to outlets on the Chesapeake Bay. This precipitated similar railroad lines to be built by Philadelphia, Boston, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. Very rapidly the entire country was a huge network of railroads and waterways. Goods and people were being transported very economically across the entire continent.
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