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The Creation of U.S. Interstate Highways
By Skyler Farrand and Matt Layding
❖ America pumped cheap petroleum from Middle East
❖ U.S. doubled consumption of oil in quarter-century after the war
❖ Anticipated a future of low-cost fuels➢ Lead to construction of highways
History
❖ Congress first authorized a national highway system in 1944, but it became underfunded
❖ President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956➢ Created Federal Highway Administration
❖ President Eisenhower became “Father of the Interstate System”
History
❖ Federal-Aid Highway Act also created nationwide
design standards:
➢ A minimum of two lanes in each direction
➢ Lanes that were 12 ft in width
➢ A 10-foot right paved shoulder
➢ Designed speeds of 50–70 mph
History
❖ Largest Public Works Project of Eisenhower’s Administration was the creation of the United States Interstate highways
❖ The project called for construction of 42,000 miles of controlled-access highways linking major cities
❖ When Eisenhower left Office 7,500 miles of the system were in use
Planning/Construction
Interstate Map
“President Eisenhower … gave the nation its biggest construction project, the huge interstate-highway program
that changed the shape of American society and made possible the expansion of the suburban middle class.”
James M. Perry
The Wall Street JournalOctober 27, 1995
Influential Cultures
❖ Middle-class whites fled from cities full of black and destitute people, moving to the suburbs
❖ Racism against African Americans❖ Classism against the unwealthy
Stereotypical Family Home in the 1950’s (www.driveinmedia.com)
❖ Commuters❖ Travelers❖ Automobile
Companies❖ Postal Services❖ Military Vehicles❖ Construction
workers
❖ Environmentalists❖ People who did
not own cars
Benefiters Non-Benefiters
❖ Changed culture and lives of U.S. citizens❖ Facilitated the suburban migration❖ By 1960, ¼ of Americans lived in suburbs❖ Suburbs held ½ of population by end of
the twentieth century❖ Increased racial segregation and urban
“white flight”
Domestic Event?
Kennedy, David M, et al. “The American Pageant.” Boston: Charles Hartford, 2006. Print. Manning, Martin J. "national highway system." Daily Life through History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.Mayer, Michael S. "Eisenhower, Dwight D." The Eisenhower Years, Presidential Profiles. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2010. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 11 Mar.2014<http://www.fofweb.com/NuHistory/default.asp?ItemID=WE52>Snyder, Logan Thomas. “The Creation of America’s Interstate Highway System.” American History. 2006. Academic Search Premier. Ebscohost. Web. 11 March, 2014. <http://www.ebscohost.com>
Works Cited
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