John C. Calhoun of South Carolina addressed his fellow legislators in the U.S. House of Representatives in February 1817 with these words: “Let us . . . bind the Republic together with a perfect system of roads and canals. Let us conquer space.”
The sentiments Calhoun expressed were popular throughout the country. Traveling on American roads and in the early 19th century was difficult, time-consuming, and costly. Roads and turnpikes often were no more than unpaved
