The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-12-20
THE GREAT NATIONAL ROAD
II Was an Object of General Interest for
Forty Years, but Is Now Forgotten.
The National Congress Fought Over II Third
of q Century, and Thirty-Two Years We're
Spent in Survey and Construction.

To the Editor OF the INDIANAPOLIS Journal:
Please tell us about the National road When
was it built, between what two points, etc.,
W. III. d VI.
To tell much about the National road, or
pike, would be to tell considerable of the
earlier political history OF the United
States To tell tho story of Its tedious
progress. lasting from 1906 to 1888, would
involve the history of a contention which
began before the Constitution was fairly
oit of the hands of Its authors and con-
tinued to the present time. and which. in
some phase or aspect. will continue to
practically divide the two great political par
ties, one of which has alwaysan and alwayswill
administer the affairs of this government.
The public men who maintained, for a
quarter of a century, that the federal gov
eminent had no right to make internal Im-
provements within the States for the gen.
eral interest were the predecessors of those
who. in 1860, declared that the United
States had no constitutional power to coerce
o State to keep its place in the Union.
1t can be said that when the federal
Constitution was first adopted. and during
the administration of WASHINGTON. there
was but one view expressed regarding IN
ternal improvements which was their ne
cessIty: and not only the ample authority.
under the Constitution, to construct them.
but the imperative duty of the federal
government to construct such land and
waterways as were necessary to promote
the general interest and aid interstate COM
MERGE. Washington never thought of any
thing else. he 1t was whose brain planned
canals which should connect the Atlantic,
and the Ohio river and the lakes. All his
basis. He rarely spoke of State, and
never as a subordinate part of the Union.
He was q Federalist of Federalists. Ham,
ilton took the same view. So did Madison
when he helped form the Constitution. and
was in accord with Washington and wrote
papers for the Federalist.
DELAYED BY STRICT CONsTRUCTIoNIsTs.
During the last four years of Washing
ton and the first four of John Adams. JEFF
ferson was a statesman of the opposition.
No man ever was more anxious for the
first place in public affairs. He was not
vain man, but he wanted to mold affairs
according to his theories. He was a phi
losopher as well as plOtter. During the
years OF Washington and Adane he
evolved political creed Numerically OPP
posed to them. While they. as Federalists.
believed in a strong central government.
he went to the other extreme. and not
only proclaimed the supremacy of the
State, but in the resolutions of 119S, which
were his, and which he was instrumental
in having the Kentucky Legislature
adopt. he proclaimed the heresy of the right
of the notification of the laws of
the United States BY the States-in
which were the germs of the more fatal
heresy of secession. put to bloody test in
1861. jefferson was the father of the school
of strict constructlODlsts." They assumed
that the United states had no powers ex-
ceDt those which were definitely conferred
by the people in the Constitution. There
was no such thing as an implied power. If
1t was proposed to bald post-road into
the interior. these strict constructionists
turned to the Constitution, and. finding no
explicit grant of powers to build national
roadsD shook their heads. Every PROPOSE
tion for the federal government to assume
the functions of nationality was met with
the decree that. as it was not specified in
the Constitution, 1t could not be. IN time
the strict constructionists gave the Consti-
tuition such close Interpretation that. IL
they were right, the chief object IN its
adoption was to prevent the people of the
United States from becoming nation and
of attaining 20 that more perfect union"
which Is. in its preamble. the declared pur-
pose of the Constitution.
SO long as the Nation was fringe of set
Elements along the Atlantic there no
need for national highways, but the hour
that kentucky became a State and emf
ing Ohio and Indiana, such highways were
essential to nationality. The people of
those egions must have access to the sea-
board for traffic anu to the seat of national
government. Pennsylvania and Marylan
could have no special interest In building
permanent rOadways across their territory
for the almost exclusive use of inhabitants
west of the Alleghanies. 1t must be done
by the federal government OF not done at
oil. If not done the people west of the
mountains would naturally incline to n
federative government. which would use
the great rivers not only for highways but
for bond OF political union. This was
what Aaron Burr had in view. and what he
would have carried ont had not his con-
spiracy been discovered and broken I'D by
his arrest.
ORIGIN OF THE ROAD.
The matter of national road from
some point on the Potomac to some point
on the Ohio seems to have attracted the
attention of Congress as carly as 1902. All
admitted its necessity, but the strict con-
structionists said that it could not be done
without an amendment to the Constitution.
Finally, in 1896. Congress appropriated
$4,000 to make a survey of road from
Cumberland, on the Potomac river in
Mary land. to some point on the Ohio river.
The government needed the road, and the
people needed 1t more. Across the mount
AIMS, Wheeling. on the Ohio. was more dis
tant IN time from Washington than Is San
Francisc0now, while the cost of transporting
ton of freight from Baltimore TO the Ohio
river was greater than it now Is from New
York to San Francisco. Before much of n
practical nature had been done the war of
1872 came to engross public atten tion and to
absorb all the energies of the federal gov
eminent. When that conflict was over
public attention was again called to the
National road. The people in the interior
were more numerous and more clamorous.
In the war they had not only been loyal to
the federal cause, but they had furnished
cessIty of such road was made more evil
dent TO public men. Appropriations were
made for construction. but on all occasions
the old controversy relative to the consti-
tutlonal right of the federal government to
construct roads in States and afterward to
maintain them was fought over. As is
usual, the advocates or the road and of
the appropriation succeeded, and year
by year the work went forward. Sometimes
the appropriations were put into general
appropriation bills As soon as the road
wos built, it became necessary, so heavy
was the travel. to make repairs. After
having approved three bills appropristing
money for the maintenance of the road, in
1892. President Monroe vetoed a fourth on
the ground that Congress did not posses
the power. under the Constitution, to main
tain such road.
At this time there appeared to be three
opinions about national roads. The first
was the element which may be said to have
been led by Henry Clay, who held that the
federal government had unquesti0ned au-
thority to build interstate highways and
maintain them, and to exercise exclusive
jurisdiction over them. even to the making