Question

The early nineteenth century in America is known as the "turnpike era" because_____.

(A) most towns and villages became connected by a network of inexpensive roads.
(B) Americans stopped transporting goods by canal in favor of roads.
(C) the federal government provided free land to road construction companies.
(D) concrete was first developed as a long-life road surface.
(E) many roads were built for profit by private companies.

Answer 1

Answer:

(E) many roads were built for profit by private companies.

Explanation:

Shortly after obtaining independence (in the early nineteenth century precisely), the United States had a need for roads in order to improve its economy.

The federal government was not very large or powerful, and it did not have a lot of money to spend (neither were state governments), thus, many private companies began to build roads with private funds, and in order to get a return on the investment, they added turnpikes to the roads in order to charge a toll.