How Fast You Could Travel Across the United States in the 1800s

We take a lot for granted in this day and age and travel is certainly not excluded. This map from the Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States (1932) shows how long it took to travel across the United States in 1800 if starting in New York City. To compare, the map below shows rates of travel in 1930, when railroads drastically sped things up. From weeks to days to hours, pretty cool stuff. There are even more maps over at Mother Nature Network.