Small appropriations were first made
in 1820 and 1821 for surveys. An act was passed on the 3d of March,
1823, authorizing the President to "cause an examination and survey to
be made of the obstructions between the harbor of Gloucester and the
harbor of Squam, in the State of Massachusetts," and of "the entrance of
the harbor of the port of Presque Isle, in Pennsylvania," with a view to
their removal, and a small appropriation was made to pay the necessary
expenses. This appears to have been the commencement of harbor
improvements by Congress, thirty-four years after the Government went
into operation under the present Constitution. On the 30th of April,
1824, an act was passed making an appropriation of $30,000, and
directing "surveys and estimates to be made of the routes of such roads
and canals" as the President "may deem of national importance in a
commercial or military point of view or necessary for the transportation
of the mails." This act evidently looked to the adoption of a general
system of internal improvements, to embrace roads and canals as well
as harbors and rivers.
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