Cars and roads
Why did crossing America take two months?
The 1919 Army truck trip. A true how-it-works story for kids 4–7.
The Transcontinental Motor Convoy story, read aloud
Look at our road! It is smooth and flat, and we zoom along. But about a hundred years ago, when your great-great-grandparents were little, a long line of army trucks tried to drive all the way across America. A young soldier named Dwight Eisenhower rode along to learn.
A music band rode in one truck, tooting their horns! Can you spot a big truck out the window? Those old trucks drove more than three thousand miles. It took two whole months!
That is so many sleeps. Later, Eisenhower became president. He helped build big smooth highways, like this one. Whee, smooth road!
Quiz the back seat
How long did the army trucks take to cross America?
Show the answer
Two months. Two months! Not cookies, not naps! The army trucks drove more than three thousand miles, and it took two whole months.
Transcontinental Motor Convoy facts for kids
- In 1919 a U.S. Army truck convoy drove more than 3,000 miles across America on the Lincoln Highway.
- The trip took 62 days.
- Dwight Eisenhower rode along and later, as president, championed the Interstate highway system.
Questions kids ask about Transcontinental Motor Convoy
Why did the 1919 army trucks take so long to cross America?
Most roads were dirt, and rain made deep mud that the heavy trucks sank into.
Who rode with the army trucks in 1919?
A young soldier named Dwight Eisenhower rode along to learn, and later he became president.
How did that trip change our highways?
Eisenhower remembered the slow, muddy trip and, as president, helped build big smooth highways across the country.
For grown-ups
Written with AI from public sources, then checked claim by claim against the sources below before it was published; stories that don't pass stay off the app and this site. Narration is pre-recorded, and nothing you do on this page is tied to your kids.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcontinental_Motor_Convoy
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1919_Motor_Transport_Corps_convoy
- eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/1919-transcontinental-motor-convoy
- army.mil/article/140108/the_army_goes_rolling_along
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal-Aid_Highway_Act_of_1956
- eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/interstate-highway-system
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Between stories: 25 road trip games for kids · Road trip bingo cards · Road trip trivia · Christmas light scavenger hunt · Christmas trivia
Town and county names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).