ABSTRACT

This chapter presents the aspects of the experience of the United States in the process of infrastructure integration, with an awareness of the findings presented by other contributors. It focuses upon transport systems and examines all USA infrastructure networks. During the nineteenth century, leaders of the United States linked development of transportation systems to national goals, considering the movement of people and information essential for both the economy and the functioning of a representative democracy. Canals were favored during the 1820s and 1830s, before the railroads emerged as a transportation technology capable of serving the entire nation. This policy framework rested in part upon deep-rooted and passionate reactions to the enormous economic and political power that rail carriers had exercised during the nineteenth century. Economists played an important role in delineating the US transportation situation, in ways that helped frame the technical and political debates. The emergence of UPS and FedEx shows the possibilities connecting the various transport technologies.