America’s River Story Of Partnership
Ever flowing, ever changing, waterborne commerce has remained central to the American experience throughout its nearly 250-year history. The United States exists as a unified nation in large part because its water arteries connect its distinct regions.
They have enabled every American triumph and tragedy: the canoes of explorers, the flatboats of early traders, Mark Twain’s steamboats, the gunboats of civil strife, the diesel revolution after World War I, the “brown-water navy” that helped win World War II, and on to today’s modern towboats and barges serving the postwar export boom. America’s free markets — supported by its rivers and waterways — continue to be the world’s envy. America remains the best place in the world for anyone with an idea to develop and market.
But markets alone didn’t build the Erie Canal, dredge the channels or build the locks and dams that have enabled American farmers and exporters to feed, fuel and clothe the world. America’s waterways story is of a continually adjusting but constant partnership between private enterprise and government support. America’s barge operators and the companies that support them continue to serve as a vital component of America’s prosperity and security.
As we prepare to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday in the next few weeks, it’s important to remember that the inland waterways are more than a transportation asset; they are a strategic advantage that supports jobs, strengthens supply chains and connects American producers to markets around the world. The story of America’s waterways is, in many ways, the story of America itself — resilient, innovative and always moving forward.
