Thomas Harris MacDonald
Encyclopedia
Thomas Harris "Chief" MacDonald (July 23, 1881 – April 7, 1957) was an American civil engineer and politician with tremendous influence in building the country's interstate highway system. He served as chief of the Iowa State Highway Commission, chief of the Bureau of Public Roads from 1919 to 1939, and commissioner of the Bureau of Public Roads from 1939 until 1953.
He directed national road policy for 34 years, serving under seven different US Presidents. During his time, he supervised the creation of 3.5 million miles of highways. Later, he personally directed the creation of the Alaskan Highway, and helped the countries of Central America in building the Inter-American Highway. "[He] was a force as powerful as his counterpart at the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover
," insists historian Stephen B. Goddard, "yet was virtually unknown to most Americans."
log-cabin to John MacDonald and Elizabeth Harris, his family moved to Poweshiek County, Iowa
when he was young. (He attended elementary and high school at public schools in Montezuma, Iowa
, the county seat.) His father was a grain and lumber dealer 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 Iowa State College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts at Ames
(transferring after a year at Iowa State Teachers College) to learn road building as a student of Anson Marston. He received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1904. (His senior thesis, written with L. T. Gaylord, was titled "Iowa Good Roads Investigations.") In 1907, he married Elizabeth Dunham of Ames, Iowa
and they had two children before her death in 1935.
After graduating 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 American Association of State Highway Officials
(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.
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 [as reasonable]."
MacDonald quickly pulled together a coalition including the Portland Cement Association, the American Automobile Association
, the American Road Builders Association, the Association of Highway Officials of the North Atlantic States, the Rubber Association of America, the Mississippi Valley Association of State Highway Officials, the National Paving Brick Manufacturer's Association, the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, and more.
MacDonald's power 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 Blackwell, Oklahoma
by taking advantage of their hospitality and passing bad checks.
MacDonald was cool with 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." And he was fanatical about his cause. "Next to the education of the child," he wrote, road building was "the greatest public responsibility."
MacDonald's collected addresses fill fifteen volumes and many of them argue, despite mounting evidence, that roads would never take traffic away from railroads, but instead would complement them. Such politically convenient claims, often at odds with the facts, would be a hallmark of his work. "Perhaps what set MacDonald apart from his fellow engineers and certainly his railroad competitors," writes one historian, "was his early recognition that to sell roads, Washington would have to market them like a detergent."
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 which posed as an independent organization; and the Highway Research Board. The HEB wrote 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.
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 Franklin Delano Roosevelt fought bitterly to have MacDonald's powers repealed.
In 1947, toward the end of his career, MacDonald argued for an end of "the preferential use of private automobiles" in cities and said he 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 nigh insoluble." But it was too late; in 1953, President Eisenhower asked for his resignation. He died in College Station, Texas
in 1957.
In 1949, Robert Moses
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."
He directed national road policy for 34 years, serving under seven different US Presidents. During his time, he supervised the creation of 3.5 million miles of highways. Later, he personally directed the creation of the Alaskan Highway, and helped the countries of Central America in building the Inter-American Highway. "[He] was a force as powerful as his counterpart at the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
," insists historian Stephen B. Goddard, "yet was virtually unknown to most Americans."
Biography
Born a Scotsman in a Leadville, ColoradoLeadville, Colorado
Leadville is a Statutory City that is the county seat of, and the only municipality in, Lake County, Colorado, United States. Situated at an elevation of , Leadville is the highest incorporated city and the second highest incorporated municipality in the United States...
log-cabin to John MacDonald and Elizabeth Harris, his family moved to Poweshiek County, Iowa
Poweshiek County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 18,914 in the county, with a population density of . There were 8,949 housing units, of which 7,555 were occupied.-2000 census:...
when he was young. (He attended elementary and high school at public schools in Montezuma, Iowa
Montezuma, Iowa
Montezuma is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,440 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Poweshiek County.-Geography:Montezuma's longitude and latitude coordinatesin decimal form are 41.584737, -92.525258...
, the county seat.) His father was a grain and lumber dealer 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 Iowa State College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts at Ames
Ames, Iowa
Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa...
(transferring after a year at Iowa State Teachers College) to learn road building as a student of Anson Marston. He received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1904. (His senior thesis, written with L. T. Gaylord, was titled "Iowa Good Roads Investigations.") In 1907, he married Elizabeth Dunham of Ames, Iowa
Ames, Iowa
Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa...
and they had two children before her death in 1935.
After graduating 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 American Association of State Highway Officials
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
AASHTO, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols and guidelines which are used in highway design and construction throughout the United States...
(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.
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 [as reasonable]."
MacDonald quickly pulled together a coalition including the Portland Cement Association, the American Automobile Association
American Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
, the American Road Builders Association, the Association of Highway Officials of the North Atlantic States, the Rubber Association of America, the Mississippi Valley Association of State Highway Officials, the National Paving Brick Manufacturer's Association, the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, and more.
MacDonald's power 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 Blackwell, Oklahoma
Blackwell, Oklahoma
Blackwell is a city in Kay County, Oklahoma, United States, located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 177 and State Highway 11 along Interstate 35. The population was 7,668 at the 2000 census. Blackwell was established following the September 16, 1893 Cherokee Outlet land run by A. J. Blackwell...
by taking advantage of their hospitality and passing bad checks.
MacDonald was cool with 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." And he was fanatical about his cause. "Next to the education of the child," he wrote, road building was "the greatest public responsibility."
MacDonald's collected addresses fill fifteen volumes and many of them argue, despite mounting evidence, that roads would never take traffic away from railroads, but instead would complement them. Such politically convenient claims, often at odds with the facts, would be a hallmark of his work. "Perhaps what set MacDonald apart from his fellow engineers and certainly his railroad competitors," writes one historian, "was his early recognition that to sell roads, Washington would have to market them like a detergent."
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 which posed as an independent organization; and the Highway Research Board. The HEB wrote 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.
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 Franklin Delano Roosevelt fought bitterly to have MacDonald's powers repealed.
In 1947, toward the end of his career, MacDonald argued for an end of "the preferential use of private automobiles" in cities and said he 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 nigh insoluble." But it was too late; in 1953, President Eisenhower asked for his resignation. He died in College Station, Texas
College Station, Texas
College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley. The city is located within the most populated region of Texas, near three of the 10 largest cities in the United States - Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio...
in 1957.
In 1949, Robert Moses
Robert Moses
Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
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."
Further reading
- Past FHA Administrators: Thomas Harris MacDonald
- Biographical Dictionary of Iowa: MacDonald, Thomas Harris
- American National BiographyAmerican National BiographyThe American National Biography is a 24 volume biographical encyclopedia set containing approximately 17,400 entries and 20 million words, first published in 1999 by Oxford University Press under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies. A 400-entry supplement appeared in 2002...
: Thomas MacDonald - Stephen B. Goddard, Getting There: The Epic Struggle Between Road and Rail in the American Century University Of Chicago Press (1996) ISBN 0226300439. http://books.google.com/books?id=pCoK3vn7URcC
- Tom Lewis, Divided Highways: Building the Interstate Highways, Transforming American Life
- Pete Davies, American Road
- Swift, Earl The Big Roads: The Untold Stories of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways Houghon Mifflin Harcourt (2011) ISBN 978-0-618-81241-7.