After the war, the number of people who lived in the city grew quickly. The National Road (now part of U.S. Route 40) and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) connected the city with big markets in the Midwest. This made Baltimore a very important shipping and manufacturing center. Baltimore was nicknamed "the Monumental City" by President John Quincy Adams in 1827. During an event, Adams gave a toast and said: "Baltimore: the Monumental City – [m]ay the days of her safety be as prosperous and happy, as the days of her dangers have been trying and triumphant." In 1835, the Baltimore bank riots happened. These were one of the worst riots of the antebellum South. (The "antebellum" period is the time right before the American Civil War.)