American presidents since George Washington have promoted infrastructure projects to strengthen and bring the country together. The first president saw the American West as a wide-open market that needed to be linked to the East before the Spanish or British could take control.
By his own exploration of this frontier, Washington determined that the Potomac River could be a navigable link to the Ohio territories. (He even canoed down the Great Falls gorge.) Since the river flowed past his home and farms in Virginia, he also saw an opportunity to get his own produce to new markets.
After the Revolutionary War in 1785, Washington helped establish the Potomac Company, a public-private partnership working to build a network of canals and roads linking East and West. Shares in the company sold out, and Washington himself was so committed to its vision that he told Lafayette he wished he could invest all his money in it.
Washington drafted this letter to James Keith, then-president of the Potomac Company, on December 8, 1799 — just six days before he died of a respiratory infection. In the letter he gives Keith his proxy vote, saying that he cannot attend a shareholder meeting because of guests expected at Mount Vernon. His words reflect his ongoing hope for the endeavor.
The project was beset by challenges, however — including unskilled laborers and rough terrain — and its objectives were never fully realized. The C&O Canal Company eventually took over the completed canals and locks around Washington, D.C., which were ultimately outpaced by the railroad.
