Essay About World War Ii And Possible Mass Production

Econ 2010 Macroeconomics – the American Economy in the 19th Century
Essay Preview: Econ 2010 Macroeconomics – the American Economy in the 19th Century
Report this essay
Nova Southeastern University
H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship
ECON 2010 Macroeconomics
Chapter 1
Part 1: The American Economy in the 19th Century.
At the time of the American revolution, 9 out of every 10 Americans lived on a farm; 100 years
later, however, fewer than 1 out of every two people worked in agriculture.
The great abundance of land was the most influential factor in our economic development
during the 19th century. Not only did the availability of very cheap or free land attract millions
of immigrants to our shores, but it also encouraged early marriage and large families, since
every child was an additional worker to till the fields and handle the animals. Even more
important, this plentitude of land, compared to amount of labor, encouraged rapid technological
development.
At the time of George Washingtons inauguration in 1789, there were about 4 million people
living in the United States. Our population reached 248.7 million in 1990, according to the U.S.
Census, and is now about 270 million. Americas large and growing population has been
extremely important as a market to our farmers and manufacturers. After World War II,
Japanese manufacturers targeted the American manufactured goods. Japan with just half our
population, and until very recently, much less the purchasing power than the United Stateshas
largely financed its industrial development with American dollars.
Although all regions of the United States remained primarily agricultural in the years following
the Civil War, New England, the Middle Atlantic states, and the Midwest with their already wellestablished
iron, steel, textile and apparel industries-were poised for a major industrial
expansion. In contrast, the South, whose economy was based on the cash crops of cotton,
tobacco, rice, and sugar, as well as on subsistence farming, remained primarily an agricultural
region well into the 20th century.
Times were bad for agriculture from the end of the Civil War until the close of the century. The
governments liberal land policy, combined with increased mechanization, vastly expanded
farm output. The production of the nations three basic cash crops-corn, wheat and cotton-rose
faster than did its population through most of that period.
The National Railroad Network.
The completion of a national railroad network in the second half of the 19th century made
possible mass production, mass marketing, and mass consumption. Interestingly, however the
transcontinental lines all bypassed the South, which severely retarded its economic
development well into the 20th century. What the railroads did, in effect, was to weave the
country together into a huge social and economic unit, and eventually into the worlds first
mass market.
The Age of the Industrial Capitalist.
The last quarter of the 19th century was the age of the industrial capitalist. The great empire
builders-Carnegie (steel), Du Pont (chemicals), McCormick (farm equipment), Rockfeller (oil),
and Swift (meat packing), among others dominated this era.
Industrial Development.
By the turn of the century, America had become an industrial economy. Fewer than 4 in 10
people still lived on farms. We were among the worlds leaders in the production of steel, coal,
steamships, textiles, apparel, chemicals, and agricultural machinery. Our trade balance with
the rest of the world was positive every year. American technological progress includes the
mass-production system preferred by Henry Ford, which made possible the era of mass
consumption and the high living standards that the people of all industrialized nations enjoy
today. America has long been on the worlds technological cutting edge, as well as being the
worlds leader in manufacturing. This technological talent, a large agricultural surplus, the
worlds first universal public education system, and the entrepreneurial abilities of our great
industrialists combined to enable the United States to emerge as the worlds leading industrial
power.
The Great Depression.
By the summer of 1929, the country had clearly built itself up for an economic letdown. The
boom in sales of cars and electrical appliances was over. The automobile market was
saturated. Nearly three out of four cars on the road were less than 6 years old, and model
changes were not nearly as important than as they are today. The tire industry had been
overbuilt, and textiles were suffering from overcapacity. Residential construction was already in
decline, and the general business inveastment outlook was not