In 1956, the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 Created the Interstate

question 90

Essay

In 1956, the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 created the interstate highway system, at a cost of about $27 billion: $25 billion from the federal government and the remaining $2 billion from states. The full federal share was to be financed by issuing 30-year bonds. But this type of financing was not without its detractors, in particular Senator Harry Flood Byrd of Virginia, who biographer Alden Hatch described as having "an almost pathological abhorrence for borrowing that went beyond reason to the realm of deep emotion." (Quote from:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/.../pavements/.../publicroads/96summer/p96su10.cfm.)
You have been given the unenviable task of convincing Senator Byrd that borrowing to build freeways is good and fair. Use the language of generational accounting to make your argument.

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Definitions:

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

A civil rights organization founded in 1909 to fight for the elimination of racial prejudice and discrimination, advocating for the rights and well-being of African Americans.

Hepburn Act

The Hepburn Act of 1906 is a United States federal law that gave the Interstate Commerce Commission the authority to set maximum railroad rates and extend its jurisdiction.

Railroad Abuse

Refers to unethical or illegal practices by railroad companies, often involving overcharging, monopolies, and exploitation of government land grants in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

ICC

Stands for the Interstate Commerce Commission, a regulatory agency in the United States created to regulate railroads and later trucking, to ensure fair rates and to regulate other aspects of common carriers.