Founded in 1850 on the banks of the Missouri River, Kansas City has always been at a crossroads. Originally the crossing between the state of Missouri and the unorganized territory, with the signing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, the city found itself in political limbo between the Free-Staters and Border Ruffians during the Bleeding Kansas period and into the Civil War as pro-Union and pro-Confederate paramilitaries clashed.

Post-war, the city was at a literal crossroads. Being home to the Missouri River railroad bridge and Union Station, the city saw rapid economic growth from the New York-Kansas City-New Orleans rail line, with cultural exports from both cities pouring from the railway line.

With the end of WW2 and the creation of the Interstate Highway System, Kansas City has once again found itself at a crossroads, and with a unique opportunity. At the intersection of I-70 and I-35, its influence spans nearly the entire latitude and longitude of the contiguous United States, and with the continued expansion of both it and the old rail system, the city is poised to be one of the most important in America in the following century.