What caused contemporary American culture to lose respect for the less fortunate dead?

I was about 8 years old when I noticed a small section of the highway was split around a tiny piece of land. The amount of land seemed so small that I wondered why the highway was built around it. I did what any 8 year-old child would do...I asked my mother about it. She told me that a family graveyard was there and out of respect for the dead the highway was built around it. Respect for the dead. That phrase stayed with me all of this time.

As I grew up I became interested in Urban Planning and Design for a potential career path. This is when I found out that sometimes it is necessary to relocate cemeteries. Going back to the statement mother told me years ago, "Respect for the dead,” came back to mind. Was my mother lying to me when she told me that? Or has our society lost our respect for the dead?

Over the course of American history is has been common practice for Potter’s Fields, or other unknown graves, to be either completely removed or relocated for construction purposes. I would like to know why that is. My guess is that is all comes down to money, although I hope that isn’t the case. I also am aware the population of the United States is rapidly growing. Perhaps it is just a matter of needing space for the growing population. No matter what the reason is I hope that is not purely based on a loss of respect for the less fortunate dead.

So my research begins…