the post-war United States to shift toward
             the cities (Nash 576). The general aim of the Untied States had turned
             toward the big cities, but was still focused on building the nation's power
             from within. And along with their improvement of industry in the United
             States came the spark of ingenuity that found itself in the minds of great
             inventors like Edison and Bell. Once again maintaining the goal of
             "hastening and securing settlement," both men concentrated on improvements
             in communications, improving the transmission of light and sound (Cashman
             14). The presence of these two, who are representative of so many others,
             shows the interest the citizens of the United States had at this time in
             improving their infrastructure. It is interesting to note here that
             Roosevelt, as the first president to make use of the popular press to his
             advantage, grew up at the same time as these men, eleven years their junior.
             The period of the United States directly before Roosevelt's was known as
             the Gilded Age, due to a book of the same name by Mark Twain that made use
             ...