rich history. learn about concord and other stops on our tour at c-span.org. you're watching american history tv all weekend, every weekend on c-span3. >> c-span, where history unfolds daily. was created as a public service i america's cable television companies and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. >> american history tv was at the organization of american historians annual meeting in new orleans. we spoke with hillary miller about the national road, built in the early 19th century to unite the east coast and the western frontier. it was the first federally funded highway and is still in use. this interview is about 15

minutes. >> what was the national road? >> also known as the cumberland road am a was our first federally funded highway in the united states. construction on the road began in 1811, although it had been authorized in 1806 by thomas jefferson. it originally ran from cumberland, maryland through virginia, now west virginia, ohio, indiana and illinois. its western terminus was in illinois. the state capital at the time. why was this type of project necessary? >> it was necessary because in the years following the american revolution, there was a major disconnect between the people living along the western frontier and those in the more established cities on the east coast. a lot of politicians and other important people noticed that

there was a disconnect, and it worried them greatly. george washington was one of the people really concerned about western settlers who were across the mountains, it was hard to indicate with the people in the east but it was hard to trade with them. they were worried the western settlers were trading with other countries, other people to the west, not bringing the commerce to eastern cities. ais also became potentially political disaster, as well, and it was proved with the whiskey rebellion in the 1790's. at that time, the western citizens did not feel connected to the federal government along the east coast and communication aoke down, and in terms of violent uprising. as everybody's watching, they are trying to think of what kind of solution may have to this problem. improved transportation seem to

be the solution. one person watching all of this unfold was albert gallatin. 10 years after the whiskey rebellion, he is serving as secretary of the treasury under thomas jefferson. he is the one who finds the funding for this major project. he understands the importance of all office. this was a major project, a major undertaking. there were so few routes over the mountain to connect people that they just wanted to try to improve that. that is what the national road salt, this problem -- road s olved, this problem. >> did bring the east and west together? >> in many ways. people were funneled across the national road to the western country. it is important to remember that

time, even western pennsylvania and ohio, this was a western frontier. people started funneling into that area. people started moving that way. communicatee to more easily with people in the east. you have more constant communication, you have more input from the people in the west on maybe government policies, it will strengthen the union overall. we do see during the national road era, indiana and illinois added as states to the unit. we were really growing our country that way, the national road is binding the states together. it will also improve commerce and help expand capitalism. we are creating a larger american economy, we have routes for bringing resources back and forth between east and west. in many different aspects, socially, culturally,

economically, politically, it really does connect the east and west. >> what does it mean to different people? >> the national road has multiple meanings, and it depends on who you are looking at along the road and their relationship to the road and what it means to them. some people thought the road was going to be so important, even before it was built, that they wanted to have this relationship with it. pennsylvania is an example, established prior to the national road, that it was not going to be included on the original route. the local townspeople thought it would be a great benefit to be included on the route and successfully petitioned the government to change the route to go through the town. you see that meaning already, they see it is going to benefit your town greatly. the national road also has many different names. we can get a lot of different meanings from these names. in the late 19th century, there

is a historian named jacob brown from maryland who notes that technically it was called the cumberland road, but popularly it was known as the national road. the cumberland road is a sort of the official name in government documents, it makes sense, it starts in cumberland, maryland. that is really the only point they had figured out at that point when they started tilting the road, so it makes since it has been name. but that is really the only place you see it in used, within government documents or call for contracts to build the road. you start seeing national road teams ind early on by many places as the popular name for the road. other than it being federally funded, it means people among are connected -- people along it are connected to the nation at large. they can be coming up into this

national identity, they are participating in nationbuilding. other names. united states road, depending on trophe.add an apos ofcould belong to the people the united states. you also see people in berlin, maryland for intuit as -- people in cumberland, maryland referring it to the great western road. it connects them to the west. all of these different people and different meanings and relationships to the road. very alongthe use the road? used fore it being goods and resources back and forth. building economic power in the

united states. in the many merchants western towns, these communities, advertising in newspapers that they happy latest goods from ultima, philadelphia. they are proud they can get the products and fairly quickly. of course, mail will travel along the road much faster than any other route in the area. you also see the establishment of new communities. people are moving along the road. they are immigrating westward. some will continue out to indiana, illinois and beyond, but some will stop in places like pennsylvania and create brand-new communities to serve maybe the stagecoaches coming through. you will need towns. have places to repair stagecoaches. you see a lot of this is thriving on the road.

there are a lot of travelers. you see the rise of tourism in this period, as people can navigate in the western country and around the united states. the national road connects to , nowhio river at wheeling west virginia, and you have so much access to the interior of the united states from there. tourists aree traveling, their writing down what they are seeing and noting that there are historic places along the way, as well. passing historic sites from the french and indian war, taking a moment to reflect on the history of the united states. and what that means to them at that moment, even 100 years later, that they are traveling the same path that george washington took 100 years prior. we also see presidents and other celebrities traveling along the road.

it will be very exciting for the people living along the road to see these celebrities. but it will also be a symbol for them of their connection to american culture. it is a really great use for the road to spread these ideas, spread this connection and communication and sense of the longing to the people living out there. >> is the national road still in use today? >> that is a difficult question. answer is yes and no. the national road -- i separate them, i consider the national road mostly from the early 19th century. the national road was very popular in the first half of the 19th century, especially in the 1830's and 1840's, when it is estimated that 200,000 people were using it annually. from there, it seems like that was the best way to go. technology is going to catch up with us, and by the early 1850's, the railroads have been

built to be a river, which is pretty much making the national road obsolete at that time, as travelers are finding it faster, less expensive and more comfortable to take a train than to go over the mountains on the national road. almost overnight, a lot of business stopped on the national road. it becomes more of a local route for people to use and eventually falls into disrepair and is neglected. however, in the early 20th century, technology changes once again and we see the rise of the automobile. road is first incorporated into an early coast-to-coast highway, the national old trails road. in the 1920's, it becomes part of the u.s. highway system, u.s. route 40 closely follows the original national road route. by the mid-20th century, we have

interstates, and these will bypass the national road in many way. interstate 70 closely follows its route and a lot of travelers will take that. what happens to the national road now? it is largely for local traffic once again, just like it was over 100 years ago, but we still tourism that are still getting a lot of interest, and it is a beautiful, scenic route is a lot of history. it still lives on in that aspect. >> how did you get started on this topic? >> it is near and dear to my heart. i grew up in southwestern pennsylvania, very close to the national road. i grew up knowing its history, getting to travel on it, seeing sites along it. sometimes there are wonderful yard sales. i really get to experience it. my more official academic relationship with the road begin after i interned at a national

battlefield and became a seasonal park ranger with the national park service there. owns aional park service national road era tavern. i was able to reflect on how people traveled, and everything took off from there. >> what resources you use to research the national road? resourcesre secondary from the late 19th century that have old anecdotes from people along the road, telling of the stories. there is a book called "the old pike," that is a great place for people to start looking for information. for my research, i use a lot of newspapers, a lot of period newspapers from communities along the road to see what advertisements are in there, see what they are recording, the

visits by politicians and other celebrity travelers. i also use documents from some of the superintendents and people involved in the construction of the road. ledgers. tollhouse i look at maps, they are a wonderful resource. some of them show the multiple names of the road. i have been able to pull from many sources for this project. >> hillary miller, thank you for speaking with us. >> thank you. >> interested in american history our website. you can view our tv schedule, preview upcoming programs, and watch college lectures and more. american history tv. >> c-span, where history unfolds daily.

1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's public cable companies and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. >> each week, american history tv's american artifacts visit museums and historic places. up next, we visit the franklin d. roosevelt presidential library and museum in hyde park, new york for a tour at their permanent exhibit. herman eberhardt: the library was created in 1941. it was the first presidential library created and operated by the national archives administration. the library was established by president franklin roosevelt. he was looking for a way to preserve the papers of his administration and also his personal papers.