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233:, the county seat.) His father was a partner in T. Harris & Company, a grain and lumber dealer founded by his maternal grandfather, and Thomas grew up frustrated with the poor state of local roads. Lumber traveled in wooden wagons which were unusable in the spring and fall mud. Most people of the era saw railroads as the solution, but MacDonald went to
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In 1947, toward the end of his career, MacDonald argued for an end of "the preferential use of private automobiles" in cities and said the AASHO should "promote the patronage of mass transit... Unless this reversal can be accomplished, indeed, the traffic problems of the larger cities may become well
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He began what was then called a propaganda campaign to argue that good roads were a human right, with radio addresses as early as 1923; the creation of the
Highway Education Board (HEB), an affiliate of the BPR that posed as an independent organization; and the Highway Research Board. The HEB wrote
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He argued, against critics and eventually evidence to the contrary, that roads would never take traffic away from railroads, but instead would complement them. "Perhaps what set MacDonald apart from his fellow engineers and certainly his railroad competitors," writes one historian, "was his early
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After graduation from college, he was named
Assistant in Charge of Good Roads Investigation for the Iowa State Highway Commission (ISHC). He then became chief engineer and then Iowa highway commissioner, overseeing a budget of just $ 5,000 a year. He was soon named president of the
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He persuaded
Congress to grant him the authority to sign contracts with the states. He used this to write contracts promising the states money, which the U.S. Government was then obliged to fulfill (the US Constitution says that Congress may not abrogate any contracts). President
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He demanded (and received) a salary increase from $ 4,500 to $ 6,000 and remained an AASHO board member. He also insisted on adoption of "the most liberal policy possible under the existing laws, in order to get actual construction work under way as early and as rapidly ."
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insisted "There is no better example of nonpolitical, effective, and prudent
Federal, State and local cooperation than that afforded by the Public Roads Administration for almost 30 years under the respected leadership of Commissioner Thomas H. MacDonald."
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MacDonald was known to have a severe stare. "When you were in Mr. MacDonald's presence you were quiet. You spoke only if he asked you to," reports one subordinate. "He came as close ... to characterize what I would call royalty."
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MacDonald's popularity was such that when visiting towns he was given the finest hotel accommodations, free food and drink, and a guided tour of local roads. In 1920, an impostor took advantage of this to swindle the citizens of
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249:. He received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1904. (His senior thesis, written with L. T. Gaylord, was entitled "Iowa Good Roads Investigations.") In 1907, he married Elizabeth Dunham of
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materials for schools, held nationwide contests, published booklets, and had a speakers bureau. He worked closely with the industries that would benefit from roads to extend his
Federal budget.
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261:(AASHO) and at the age of 38, was suggested by that group to serve as chief of the Bureau of Public Roads. Congress quickly accepted.
169:(July 23, 1881 – April 7, 1957) was an American civil engineer and politician with tremendous influence in building the American
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196:. During his time, he supervised the creation of 3.5 million miles of highways. Later, he personally directed the creation of the
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The Big Roads: The Untold
Stories of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways
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MacDonald believed that, "Next to the education of the child," road building was "the greatest public responsibility."
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nigh insoluble." But it was too late; in 1953, President
Eisenhower asked for his resignation. He died in
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recognition that to sell roads, Washington would have to market them like a detergent."
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when he was young. (He attended elementary and high school at public schools in
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log-cabin to John MacDonald and Sarah
Elizabeth Harris, his family returned to
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Divided
Highways: Building the Interstate Highways, Transforming American Life
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Getting There: The Epic
Struggle Between Road and Rail in the American Century
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He directed national road policy for 34 years, serving under seven different
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399:"Public Roads - Highway Existence: - 100 Years and Beyond, Autumn 1993 -"
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from 1939 to March 31, 1953, when he resigned shortly after President
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by taking advantage of their hospitality and passing bad checks.
200:, and helped the countries of Central America in building the
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Association of Highway Officials of the North Atlantic States
418:. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. photo insert, p. 5.
204:. " was a force as powerful as his counterpart at the FBI,
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Mississippi Valley Association of State Highway Officials
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fought bitterly to have MacDonald's powers repealed.
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Administrators of the Federal Highway Administration
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MacDonald pulled together a coalition including the
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and they had two children before her death in 1935.
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598:Past FHWA Administrators: Thomas Harris MacDonald
496:(M.A. thesis). American University. p. 103.
294:National Paving Brick Manufacturer's Association
259:American Association of State Highway Officials
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459:. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p.
181:from 1919 to 1939, and commissioner of the
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626:Works by or about Thomas Harris MacDonald
245:) to learn road building as a student of
189:'s first term began on January 20, 1953.
59:April 1, 1919 – March 31, 1953
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298:National Automobile Chamber of Commerce
237:of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts at
567:. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
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7:
540:. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
278:American Road Builders Association
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610:Biographical Dictionary of Iowa:
604:Firing Thomas H. MacDonald--Twice
670:People from Leadville, Colorado
274:American Automobile Association
167:Thomas Harris "Chief" MacDonald
241:(transferring after a year at
47:Federal Highway Administration
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286:Rubber Association of America
175:Iowa State Highway Commission
660:Iowa State University alumni
412:Goddard, Stephen B. (1996).
173:. He served as chief of the
665:People from Montezuma, Iowa
617:American National Biography
270:Portland Cement Association
243:Iowa State Teachers College
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492:Lind, William E. (1965).
322:Franklin Delano Roosevelt
171:Interstate Highway System
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655:American civil engineers
612:MacDonald, Thomas Harris
35:Thomas Harris MacDonald
23:Thomas Harris MacDonald
16:American civil engineer
330:College Station, Texas
227:Poweshiek County, Iowa
202:Inter-American Highway
183:Bureau of Public Roads
179:Bureau of Public Roads
119:College Station, Texas
82:Francis Victor du Pont
536:Davies, Pete (2014).
221:Born a Scotsman in a
217:Early life and career
155:Iowa State University
45:Administrator of the
563:Swift, Earl (2011).
187:Dwight D. Eisenhower
494:Thomas H. MacDonald
451:Lewis, Tom (2013).
379:Herbert S. Fairbank
306:Blackwell, Oklahoma
223:Leadville, Colorado
103:Leadville, Colorado
235:Iowa State College
574:978-0-618-81241-7
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70:Logan Waller Page
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630:Internet Archive
621:Thomas MacDonald
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436:– via
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114:(1957-04-07)
77:Succeeded by
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650:1957 deaths
645:1881 births
129:Nationality
65:Preceded by
639:Categories
385:References
251:Ames, Iowa
150:Alma mater
583:759581024
556:872606640
479:875030598
340:In 1949,
332:in 1957.
212:Biography
139:Residence
55:In office
434:34745950
361:See also
133:American
628:at the
602:FHWA:
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336:Legacy
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579:OCLC
569:ISBN
552:OCLC
542:ISBN
475:OCLC
465:ISBN
430:OCLC
420:ISBN
239:Ames
143:U.S.
123:U.S.
109:Died
97:Born
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