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Interstate Highway System Dbq Essay

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In 2023 according to the Department of Transportation, it is projected that there will be 243.4 million licensed drivers in the United States and we are some of them.(Department of Transportation) Driving became more and more popular with the introduction of paved, organized and safer roadways. This prompted a boom in companies building cars, people buying cars and a roadway expansion. The Interstate Highway System changed America, as most would expect, it did so with both positive and negative outcomes. The Interstate Highway System was safer, faster, easier to use, connected the country, and boosted the economy. However, they also cost money to build and needed land to build on. People became reliant on cars, therefore the updated and new …show more content…

They weren’t freeways, liberating Americans to get a move on.” The newly designed Interstate Highways were safer than many other roadways. “ They have features such as medians and barriers to separate lanes traveling in opposite directions, and they use exit and entrance ramps to eliminate intersections.” (Document A) There are only 6.7% fatalities on the Interstate versus the 33.1% on local roads with lights, according to Document A. Highway travel time was reduced by 25% due to the new Interstate Highway System.(Document E) The Interstate Highway System allowed for faster and safer travel from place to place. This gave shipping companies and businesses a reason to get their goods out faster. Faster transport of goods allows for more product sales and more money to be made. US productivity grew and travel time was reduced. With the new highways people were able to travel faster, safer and with …show more content…

Once the war had ended the United States saw a growth in wages, consumer spending, housing, the production of cars and public work projects. “The Interstate Highway System was the biggest of these.” (Background Document) The highways connect people all along the main interstate and it helped to expand the population. “Between 1950 and 2020, the population of the entire United States approximately doubled.” (Document D) One main highway, the I-35 corridor, towns along the route grew astronomically in size. The population boomed in all the towns, for example in Denton, Texas the population was 21,300 in 1950 and then it grew to 138,500 in 2020. Another town was Ankeny, IA, in 1950 the population was 1,200 and then it expanded to 65,300 in 2020. (Document D) The Interstate Highway System helped towns and businesses to grow along the major roadways. Past that however, into the smaller towns there was a possible negative effect. The smaller towns could lose the people living there, therefore homes could go abandoned and shops/stores would shut

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The Interstate Highway System, authorized by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, was a massive infrastructure project that aimed to connect cities and towns across the United States. The system consisted of over 41,000 miles of highways, and it fundamentally changed the way Americans traveled and lived. In this essay, we will explore how the Interstate Highway System transformed America in four key areas: transportation, commerce, suburbanization, and tourism. One of the most significant ways that the Interstate Highway System changed America was by revolutionizing transportation. Before the system was built, traveling long distances by car was slow and treacherous, with many roads in disrepair or unpaved.

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The interstate system, enacted by President Eisenhower on June 29, 1956 was in my opinion, what changed urban and rural America. The interstate changed how Americans traveled, conducted business, and transported goods across the country. I feel that the benefits from this system outweigh the negative effects. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States and retired Army General created the brainchild of a system of highways in the United States that was similar to the Autobahn in Germany, which Eisenhower visited while fighting in WWII. The autobahn had 2 travel lanes in each direction, and allowed fast speeds, making travel across Germany more efficient.

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No longer was small-town America able to stay insular, and cities within more isolated regions of the country saw growth. As highways grew, so did the number of people traveling on them. The highway has earned a reputation for danger over the years. Murdered hitchhikers and similar crimes lead to a lack of connection between people or fondness for the open road. Highways were not only an opportunity for growth, they were an opportunity for exploitation.

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Before the 1800s, there were two early roads, Forbes and Wilderness Road. In 1811, the National Road known as Cumberland Road was built to reach Western settlements, because they needed a road to ship farm products that connect East and West. The National Road passed thousand of wagons and coaches. John F. Stover states in American Railroads, “The rich agricultural production of the country, the small but expanding factories of eastern cities, and the largely untapped natural resources of the nation-all of these called for improvements in transport. ”(Stover1)

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The Suburbanization of the United States 1985). As a result, more and more families wanted safer houses for the new generations of the “Baby Boom” and at the same time automobiles also impulsed this massive migration. Large cars then became a symbol of wealth in the American society, and the need for highways expanded rapidly. However, it was later relieved by President’s Eisenhower ratification of the Interstate Highway Act

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Since transportation was easier and faster, people could live in the suburbs on the edge of towns. For example, queens outside New York doubled in size in the 1920s. By the end of the 1920s, more than 26 million cars were sold, and lots of new towns were created. Another advancement that is important is the development of trucks. In the beginning, trucks were old fashioned and had lots of flaws.

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America has a problem with the Interstate Highway System. This are ways we can improve and make the roads better. By avoiding Rush Hour and Narrow roads and also urgent situations. We can stop this and improve by taking different routes and building new streets that’s not narrow. We need to start by slowing your speed down, paying attention to the road and driving very safely so others won’t get hurt by the choices others are making.

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