John Stienbeck first called Route 66 The Mother Road, in The Grapes of Wrath. This somewhat ambitious, and sentimental phrase turned out to be so appropriate to so many people, that the road has been so known ever since. There is a fairly tale quallity to this familiar term, which suits the old road. From our childhoods, we all know that all of the great tales of myth, magic and legend start out with the words “once upon a time.” This story should be no different.
    Once upon a time, America had finally fulfilled it’s purpose to extend itself across the continent, but it found itself a nation in name only. Such was the disconnect between the separate parts of the land, that a civil war was fought, over a disagreement between the states as to certain matters of federal law. This great war ravaged the land, and set even family members at odds with each other, until, at last it was finished. The Union had been held together, and certain matters of law had been decided by the sword, yet the central issue was still left unsolved. The real cause of the war was not slavery, nor even states rights, though states rights were a part of it. The citizens of the nation did not see themselves as such. Rather, they saw themselves as citizens of their own states or communitites, and looked out for their own interests.