The National Road

Upon America’s 250th anniversary comes the story of a new republic forging unity through ambition and action, inspired by George Washington’s youthful dream to build the nation’s first highway west.

The National Road is the first narrative history of the federal project—begun decades before the nation itself was born and ranging through the 1830s—that connected the United States across the Alleghenies and into the western frontier. Starting with a young Washington’s dream of uniting the Potomac and Ohio Rivers, historian Brady J. Crytzer traces the political rivalries and engineering marvels that created an artery bringing settlers, ideas, and commerce deep into the American interior.

Washington scouted the western frontier as a surveyor and championed a route to unite the fledgling republic. Albert Gallatin, America’s longest-serving treasury secretary, battled political opposition to fund the project. Thomas Jefferson, torn between his agrarian ideals and the demands of a growing nation, ultimately championed the road as a means of securing western lands and extending democratic reach. And Henry Clay harnessed the road to advance his bold American System.

With visionaries, rebels, and everyday families seeking the American dream, and featuring congressional showdowns and backroom deals to mountain crossings and frontier towns, The National Road reveals the triumphs and tragedies of an infrastructure saga that helped define the United States.