The actions and reactions of steam in America provide the theme for an Iliad which some American Homer may one day write.

They include the epic of the coal in the Pennsylvania hills, the epic of the ore, the epic of the railroad, the epic of the great city; and, in general, the subjugation of a continental wilderness to the service of a vast civilization.
The vital need of better transportation was uppermost in the thoughts of many Americans.

It was seen that there could be no national unity in a country so far flung without means of easy intercourse between one group of Americans and another.

The highroads of the new country were, for the most part, difficult even for the man on horseback, and worse for those who must travel by coach or post-chaise.

Inland from the coast and away from the great rivers there were no roads of any sort; nothing but trails.