Editing Internal improvements (section)

==Early development==
The federal role in funding and constructing internal improvements was one of the most persistent and contentious issues of American politics in the years after the revolution. With independence, elites based in the various regional economies of the American coastal plain did share an interest in developing the transportation infrastructure of the country. Unlike Europe, they were isolated from one another by poor inland transportation links and the legacy of their [[Navigation Acts|colonial trading patterns]], and separated from their interior lands by [[Appalachian Mountains|formidable geographic obstacles]].<ref name="Mini-IntImp2">Stephen Minicucci, [http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=6&fid=275166&jid=SAP&volumeId=18&issueId=02&aid=275165&bodyId=&membershipNumber=&societyETOCSession=&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0898588X04000094#fn20 Internal Improvements and the Union, 1790–1860], [[Studies in American Political Development]] (2004), 18:2:160-185 Cambridge University Press. {{doi|10.1017/S0898588X04000094}}.</ref> George Washington repeatedly pressed his vision of a network of canals and highways to be created and overseen through the auspices of wise leaders at the head of an active republican government. This initial thrust for internal improvements fell victim to what Washington considered the narrow-minded and provincial outlook of the individual states, and federal authority hamstrung by the [[Articles of Confederation]] to the point of impotence.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

The [[Congress of the Confederation|fledgling government]], however, set historic precedent and broad transportation policy in 1787 concerning [[Northwest Territory|new lands]] west of the original colonies in the [[Northwest Ordinance]]; it established free usage of its inland waterways and their connecting [[portage]]s, and expressed this intent for any other lands and resources in future states.<ref>[[Wikisource: Northwest Ordinance|Northwest Ordinance]], Art 4. ... "The navigable waters leading into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between the same, shall be common highways and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of the said territory as to the citizens of the United States, and those of any other States that may be admitted into the confederacy, without any tax, impost, or duty therefor."</ref>  While some{{who|date=December 2015}} consider that Washington watched as rivalries between the states of Maryland and Virginia gradually rendered his [[Potomac Company]] null and void by withholding public monies, out of fear that a rival state might derive greater benefit from their own appropriations,<ref name="Down-Lars"/> others{{who|date=December 2015}} consider these events in a different light.  The preliminary report of the [[Inland Waterways Commission]] issued in 1908, provides a unique topical perspective on these and other concurrent historical events on-going at the time. It notes: "The earliest movement toward developing the inland waterways of the country began when, under the influence of George Washington, Virginia and Maryland appointed commissioners primarily to consider the navigation and improvement of the Potomac; they met in 1785 in Alexandria and adjourned to Mount Vernon, where they planned for extension, pursuant to which they reassembled with representatives of other States in Annapolis in 1786; again finding the task a growing one, a further conference was arranged in Philadelphia in 1787, with delegates from all the States. There the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|deliberations]] resulted in the framing of the [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]],  whereby the thirteen original States were united primarily on a commercial basis —the commerce of the times being chiefly by water."<ref>[http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/united-states-inland-waterways-commission/preliminary-report-of-the-inland-waterways-commission-message-from-the-presiden-tin/page-61-preliminary-report-of-the-inland-waterways-commission-message-from-the-presiden-tin.shtml Introductory note to Section 17, (portions of) the ''Gallatin Report'', (1808)]</ref>

Although the country already had an extensive coastline, inland river systems, and the largest freshwater lake system in the world, the 1803 [[Louisiana Purchase]] greatly enhanced the area claimed, as well as the need for developmental improvement. The acquisition brought the combined lands of the [[Missouri River|Missouri]], [[Ohio River|Ohio]], and [[Mississippi River]] basins all under federal control.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

Many Americans also shared the belief that increased inter-regional communications would strengthen the fragile union by fostering shared economic interests. The case for federally funded internal improvements was thus strong, because such a program could serve both local and national economic interests as well as a critical nation-building role. Promoters furthermore made a convincing case that only the federal government could effect the desired projects, since the federal budget typically operated in surplus while the states lacked adequate resources, and the states faced difficult coordination problems best solved through national political institutions.  [[Secretary of the Treasury]] [[Albert Gallatin]]'s 1808 ''Report on the Subject of Public Roads and Canals'' was one such early plan.<ref name="Mini-IntImp1"/>