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Essay On American Economic Development

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On June 29, 1956, the Federal Aid Highway Act was passed allowing for the construction of the Interstate Highway System. These limited-access highways would open the door for economic development across the country with their higher speeds and consistent route across state lines. In 1960, after the development of the interstates had yielded early promising economic results, a group of governors in Appalachia met with Presidential Candidate John F. Kennedy to discuss the needs of their impoverished people. The poverty of the Appalachian region was a dark spot on a nation that was experiencing so much success in the post-World War II era. After the lack of success of an earlier program, the Area Redevelopment Association, Kennedy would form …show more content…

The first efforts to create a national highway network was started by the American Association of State Highway Officials in 1914, founded by Logan Waller Page, with public support of The Good Roads Movement, led by John Hollis Bankhead. Along with avid motorist President Woodrow Wilson, the men worked to establish state sponsored highway agencies to improve the transportation network across the country to keep pace with the growing popularity of the automobile. With the help of these men and their enthusiasm for well-developed highways in America, the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 (FARA 1916) was passed on July 11 providing the first federal funds towards highway construction projects. The stated aim of the FARA 1916 was the improvement of postal roads to appeal to the rural population, who had initially seen this as a project with the wealthy urbanites in mind. In the final version of the approved bill, there were also provisions added to exclude the use of this federal funding within city limits. This was done to ensure the funding would go towards improving access to the most isolated locations with agriculture industries in mind. Additionally, there was heavy federal oversight of the state projects utilizing these funds. All highway improvements were subject to final approval by the Secretary of Agriculture. While these provisions would favor

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