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Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, canals, harbors and navigation improvements. [1]
The Bonus Bill of 1817 was legislation proposed by John C. Calhoun to earmark the revenue "bonus," as well as future dividends, from the recently established Second Bank of the United States for an internal improvements fund. [1]
The United States government had funded and constructed improvements along its coastline beginning with the founding of the United States Army Corps of Engineers during the revolution, and many politicians wanted them to contribute to construction of works "of a civil nature" as well. Before 1800, the Corps supervised the construction of ...
Among the most important internal improvements created under the American System was the Cumberland Road: Henry Clay's "American System," devised in the burst of nationalism that followed the War of 1812 , remains one of the most historically significant examples of a government-sponsored program to harmonize and balance the nation's ...
Internal improvements were supported by the Federalist Party, but improvements in the 1790s and 1800s were limited primarily to the construction of lighthouses. The first major federal infrastructure project, and the largest prior to the Civil War, was the Cumberland Road that connected Cumberland, Maryland and Vandalia, Illinois .
Public works is a multi-dimensional concept in economics and politics, touching on multiple arenas including: recreation (parks, beaches, trails), aesthetics (trees, green space), economy (goods and people movement, energy), law (police and courts), and neighborhood (community centers, social services buildings).
Proponents of internal improvements, such as the development of roads and bridges, argued that the federal government had an obligation to harmonize the nation's diverse, and often conflicting, sectional interests into an "American System." Jackson's decision was heavily influenced by his Secretary of State Martin Van Buren. Some authors have ...
As the United States continued to grow, many Americans advocated the construction of a system of internal improvements to help the country develop. Federal assistance for such projects evolved slowly and haphazardly—the product of contentious congressional factions and an executive branch that was concerned about the constitutionality of ...