At the 1923 Pan American Conference, a proposal was presented to link together all of the countries of the Western Hemisphere.

A single road that would run from the shore of the Arctic Ocean all the way down to Tierra del Fuego in Argentina.

Several decades later, the country's in question announced the road's completion which linked together

the entire Western Hemisphere.

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Learn more about the Pan American Highway, the world's longest road, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Book your ticket to happiness with Sun Express Airlines. If you want to understand the origin of the Pan American Highway, all you have to do is look at a map.

North and South America run roughly North and South.

Moreover, the entire region is contiguous and connected by land.

And it doesn't take too much of an imagination to consider the idea of a route that would connect

together all of those countries. The idea was first proposed with the advent of the railroad.

In the 19th century the United States completed the Transcontinental Railroad

which connected the Atlantic and Pacific Coast. It was an incredible undertaking and allowed for the rapid transportation of people and

goods from one side of the continent to the other. In the late 19th century, the dream of a similar

railroad that could connect north, central, and south America began to be

discussed openly. In 1884 the United States Congress passed a resolution

supporting the creation of a Pan American railroad and it was a talking point at the first Pan American Congress in 1889.

One of the earliest proponents of such a railroad was the American President Theodore Roosevelt.

In 1901, soon after assuming the role of President, he noted, quote,

We may assume that the volume of our trade with South America will soon grow to large proportions.

These means are adequate transportation facilities such as steamship lines, railroads, and an Ismian canal,

reciprocal trade relations, participation in the business of banking, and a core of commercial travelers specially equipped for Latin American trade.

It is not impossible that following such development.

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