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Abstract

During the early twentieth century, the creation of new highways enabled the United States to transition from rail to automobiles as its primary mode of travel. These highways resulted from the efforts of the national "Good Roads Movement," which promoted the construction of highways to enable the use of automobiles for both business and pleasure. This article looks at the Good Roads Movement in Florida and its connection with the Dixie Highway, the first major north-south highway connecting Florida with the rest of the United States, during its peak years between 1910 and 1930. This movement led to two significant economic and political shifts in the state. Economically, it deemphasized elite, rail-centered, tourism and laid its peak years between 1910 and 1930. This movement led to two significant economic and political shifts in the state. Economically, it deemphasized elite, rail-centered, tourism and laid the foundation for much of Florida's present-day automobile-dependent tourism economy. Politically, the movement resulted in the centralization of highway construction, as the Federal Bureau of Public Roads and the Florida State Road Department became the chief actors in this construction as opposed to prior, local efforts. Despite the importance of the Dixie Highway and the Good Roads Movement to Florida's economic and political development, historians of Florida have overlooked their significance in favor of other factors which spurred Florida's growth during this era. Historians who focus on highways, meanwhile, generally use a national or regional approach, overlooking the specific situation in Florida. By tracing the movement from its early beginnings as local efforts, this article shows how it led to the linking of local roads into state ones and then into national ones with the emergence of the present National Highway System. Ultimately, this political shift provided the basis for a unified infrastructure system which helped to enable tourism's future growth in Florida.

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