hat one finds the key to much of the economic history of the United
States since the Civil War.

The period from 1860 to 1900 was one of development and exploitation.
The years prior to the Civil War had been marked by the advance of the
political dominion of the United States to the Pacific Ocean, and at
the same time the nation had enjoyed an era of notable agricultural,
industrial and commercial prosperity, especially in the states east of
the Mississippi River. However, the tremendous possibilities of the
country were only beginning to be realized in 1860, and remarkable as
was development before that year, it was completely eclipsed by the
amazing progress made during the latter part of the century. An
abundance of unoccupied land, of rich and varied natural resources,
favorable climatic conditions, a complete absence of checks on
individual initiative and enterprise and of restrictions on internal
communication and trade, and the encouragement afforded to industry by
the liberal policies of the federal government all combined to create
economic opportunities of boundless scope. Labor, capital and
transportation facilities alone were needed and as these increased the
wealth production of the United States multiplied with astonishing
rapidity. The extension of the railway system permitted the constant
growth of agriculture and rendered accessible the mineral and forest
products in which the land abounded; cheap and plentiful raw materials
from field, mine and forest, made possible a phenomenal increase of
manufacturing. Multitudes of European immigrants, eager to share in the
wealth of the new world, poured in and recruited the labor force
necessary for the industrial conquest; and the invention and
application of labor-saving machinery of every description increased
many fold the effectiveness of the effort of each individual. All parts
of the country participated in the material progress. The South,
issuing quickly from the almost abject state of prostration in which it
was left by the ravages of a disastrous war, became more prosperous and
flourishing than ever; the Northern States east of the Mississippi
constantly increased their agricultural production, and at the same
time became one of the greatest manufacturing and mining districts in
the world; on the prairie lands west of the Mississippi a new cereal
kingdom was founded; the western plains were converted into great live
stock ranches; the forests, orchard