The Transportation Revolution

1. Boosterism and the "Internal Improvement" Impulse
2. The Problem of the West
   1. Isolation from the Northeast--the Alleghenies
   2. The River System--Misdirection
3. Solutions
   1. Improving the Rivers--Steamboats
   2. Breaching the East-West Barrier
      1. Roads
         1. Private--Turnpikes
         2. Public--The National Road
      2. Canals
         1. Early Canals
         2. The Revolutionary Erie Canal
         3. Post-Erie--The Canal Boom--Role of City Rivalries
      3. Railroads
         1. Advantages
            1. Constancy
            2. Reliability
            3. Flexibility
            4. Profitability
         2. Timing
            1. The First Railroads--City Rivalries Again
            2. The Boom of the 1850s
         3. Nature of Enterprises
            1. Mixed Public-Private Partnerships
            2. State Participation
            3. Federal Aid
4. The Communications Revolution
   1. The Postal System
   2. The Telegraph