1. The period between the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War saw the American economic colossus take form, and momentum. Part of the Republican war effort, aimed to keep California, and California gold in the Union, was the underwriting of national railroads.
2. With the railroads, the consumer base for manufacturers went from local to national, and the United States became the largest national market on earth. And, at some point, the increased capacity of the manufacturing base outstripped the consumer base. The American economy could produce more than Americans needed, with the result that we saw an industrial recession. Agrarian economies generally saw the opposite: needs were greater than production. The experience of the 1890’s suggested a need for foreign markets and colonies. Thus, the Spanish-American War.
3. Since 1900, the fortunes of this nation has allowed the United States to got to war without first accounting for the costs of war. This may, in fact, have changed since 2008, and we may have seen the end of elective wars. But the American economy throughout the 20th century has never demonstrated an ability to thrive in the absence of high military spending, largely based on the need for global markets. In recent decades, the strategy used to co-opt foreign markets, an alternative to war, is ‘free trade. Of course, free trade ultimately results in weaker economies being brought up...but ours down, to some extent.
4. A significant historical anomaly is the period 1945 through 1965, a golden age in many ways. This was the period after the war, when any of our potential competitors were rebuilding from the devastation, making it impossible for the United States economy not to thrive. Beneficiaries included the unions and blue collar high school graduates…who were assured of high paying jobs. Hence the sense that we will always be pre-eminent, and success is a birthright.
That is no longer true, and probably won’t be again, short of a third World War. Yet, that mindset is resistant to change.
5. Without a national commitment to education, and a rededication to the values and work ethic that produced the ‘American colossus,’ and the understanding that there is no longer an entitlement to upward mobility, the glory days of the republic are over.
The ideas above are largely based on those of Professor H.W. Brands, his book “American Colossus: The Triumph of American Capitalism, 1865-1900.”
2. With the railroads, the consumer base for manufacturers went from local to national, and the United States became the largest national market on earth. And, at some point, the increased capacity of the manufacturing base outstripped the consumer base. The American economy could produce more than Americans needed, with the result that we saw an industrial recession. Agrarian economies generally saw the opposite: needs were greater than production. The experience of the 1890’s suggested a need for foreign markets and colonies. Thus, the Spanish-American War.
3. Since 1900, the fortunes of this nation has allowed the United States to got to war without first accounting for the costs of war. This may, in fact, have changed since 2008, and we may have seen the end of elective wars. But the American economy throughout the 20th century has never demonstrated an ability to thrive in the absence of high military spending, largely based on the need for global markets. In recent decades, the strategy used to co-opt foreign markets, an alternative to war, is ‘free trade. Of course, free trade ultimately results in weaker economies being brought up...but ours down, to some extent.
4. A significant historical anomaly is the period 1945 through 1965, a golden age in many ways. This was the period after the war, when any of our potential competitors were rebuilding from the devastation, making it impossible for the United States economy not to thrive. Beneficiaries included the unions and blue collar high school graduates…who were assured of high paying jobs. Hence the sense that we will always be pre-eminent, and success is a birthright.
That is no longer true, and probably won’t be again, short of a third World War. Yet, that mindset is resistant to change.
5. Without a national commitment to education, and a rededication to the values and work ethic that produced the ‘American colossus,’ and the understanding that there is no longer an entitlement to upward mobility, the glory days of the republic are over.
The ideas above are largely based on those of Professor H.W. Brands, his book “American Colossus: The Triumph of American Capitalism, 1865-1900.”
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