Tracing the antecedents and the creation of the U.S. Department of Transportation, this work assesses its role in both the control of transportation and the encouragement of big businesses in the industry.

Tracing the antecedents and the creation of the U.S. Department of Transportation, this work assesses its role in both the control of transportation and the encouragement of big businesses in the industry. The U.S. government has struggled for over a century with the complex issue of transportation regulation. The prevailing view from the 1880s until recently was to consider private transportation a public utility, which led to the creation of the DOT in 1966. This work covers much of the regulation/deregulation debates from Hoover to the Nixon presidencies, and focuses on the bipartisan crescendo for deregulation led by Gerald Ford and Edward Kennedy. Whitnah also analyzes the heated debate over airline deregulation that resumed in the Carter years and continues to have an impact today.