Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Ike's Road Trip: How Eisenhower's 1919 Convoy Paved the Way for the Roads We Travel

Ike's Road Trip: How Eisenhower's 1919 Convoy Paved the Way for the Roads We Travel

Black, Brian C.

Hardcover

Technology & EngineeringAutomobiles20th Century United States History

Publisher Price: $28.95

ISBN10: 1567927157
ISBN13: 9781567927153
Publisher: David R. Godine Publisher
Published: Oct 29 2024
Pages: 200
Weight: 0.80
Height: 0.94 Width: 5.51 Depth: 8.27
Language: English

All roads begin somewhere and today's U. S. highway system began with an exploratory, cross-country ride, led by 28-year-old Army lieutenant colonel, Dwight Eisenhower. This is the story of that coast-to-coast journey and how the dream of connecting America with roads began.


Before he led the liberation of Europe, before he became our nation's 34th President, Dwight D. Eisenhower's made a road trip in 1919 from Washington D.C. to California. The expedition proved to be a crucial chapter in the history of America as it laid the groundwork to make automobile travel the fastest and easiest way to move around the country, also setting in motion the nation's future love affair with cheap crude.

The 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy of eighty-one trucks and other military vehicles traveled more than 3,000 precarious miles along the most famous road of the day, the Lincoln Highway, which ran between New York City and San Francisco. World War I had illustrated the importance of being able to move large amounts of troops and equipment quickly over long distances, and Eisenhower's mission was to evaluate whether the country's emerging network of paved roadways could handle such a task. It was an experience Eisenhower would never forget. Decades later, as president, he drew on that experience to push through the Interstate Highway Act of 1956.

Ike's Road Trip adds an important chapter to the story of the midwestern president who is often seen as America's grandfather. Eisenhower will also be seen as a modern visionary during a pivotal moment: his persistent trust in cheap petroleum proved to be a blueprint for modern America as he helped facilitate the most significant energy transition of the twentieth century. Today, we are experiencing perhaps the most important energy transition since Eisenhower's day--from petroleum to renewables--and that change will require minds as equally visionary as his.

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