Henry Clay was the secretary of state during president John Quincy Adams’ tenure in the late 1820s and is applauded for creating a revolutionary development plan for the United States of America (Ricci, 2020). During this time, most Americans were moving from the east to seek better opportunities in the west. The transportation of people and goods had proven tedious and challenging, and investors were eager to solve the problem (Ricci, 2020). Clay’s master plan was meant to see the technological development and advancement of the US, which the development of railroads would accompany. It would also include the development of mechanical systems, steam-driven trains, and industries across the country.
In Clay’s vision, the nation’s transportation capabilities would be expanded to facilitate industrial development and advancement. As a result, the movement of people and goods across the country improved, and merchants immersed much wealth. After developing a robust transport system linking the east and the west, towns and cities would thrive, creating more and better opportunities for the elite and unskilled Americans. Industrialization would see an increased production of goods and services for the domestic and foreign markets. As a result, the nation would not rely heavily on foreign goods, as it happened during the colonial period (Wallis & Weingast, 2018).
The proliferation of industrial development resulted in social segregation caused by the capitalist culture adopted by the Americans. The government did not anticipate the impact of its development and modernization plan. The abolishment of stave trade and liberalization led to the convergence of masses in the five-point district in New York. As a result, it turned into a slum characterized by crime, diseases, and poverty (Corbett et al., 2017).
References
Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M., Pfannestiel, T. J., Vickery, P. S., & Roberts, O. (2017). US history. OpenStax.
Ricci, G. (2020). Henry Clay Frick’s Library. Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, 39(2), 164-183. Web.
Wallis, J. J., & Weingast, B. R. (2018). Equilibrium federal impotence: why the states and not the American national government financed economic development in the antebellum era. Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice, 33(1), 19-44. Web.