and foreign trade, but with the forward-thinking ideas embedded in almost every American the land was a goldmine locked away behind the inefficient transportation system. Many things called for change.
             As a part of the transportation system of the country, the small rural road was seldom given its due, although its role was indeed large (Taylor, 19). Unacceptably poor, compared to late-twentieth century standards, a great network of these roads existed in the settled portions of the United States around 1815 (Flugel, 313). These small roads typically ran from farms to the nearest village if it was on navigable waters, otherwise onto a village that was. However, since the roads and waterways were the only available form of transportation, the ports could not be far away, for the prices paid for the bulky produce of the farms-the corn or wheat of the North and the cotton or tobacco of the South-could not make up for the
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