[55] McMaster's "History of the American People." Vol. VIII, p. 339. [56] Ibid., p. 339. XIII. THE UNITED STATES AS A WORLD COMPETITOR 1. _A New World Power_ Youngest among the great nations, the United States holds a position of immense world power. Measured in years and compared with her sister nations in Europe and Asia, she is a babe. Measured in economic strength she is a burly giant. Young America is, but mighty with a vast economic strength. An inexorable destiny seems to be forcing the United States into a position of international importance. Up to the time of the Spanish War, she played only a minor part in the affairs of the world. The Spanish War was the turning point--the United States as a borrowing nation gave way then, to the United States as an investing nation. Economic forces compelled the masters of economic life to look outside of the country for some of their business opportunities. Since the Civil War the United States has been preparing herself for her part in world affairs. During the thirty years that elapsed between 1870 and 1900 she emerged from a position of comparative economic inferiority to take a position of notable economic importance. Between the years 1870 and 1900 the population of the United States increased 97 per cent. During the same period the annual production of wheat increased from 236 million bushels to 522 million bushels; the annual production of corn from 1,094 to 2,105 million bushels; the annual production of cotton from 4,352 to 10,102 thousand bales; the annual production of coal from 29 to 241 million tons; the annual production of petroleum from 221 to 2,672 million gallons; the annual production of pig iron from 1,665 to 13,789 thousand tons; the annual production of steel from 68 to 10,188 thousand tons; the annual production of copper from 12 to 271 thousand tons, and the production of cement (there is no record for 1870) rose from two million barrels in 1880 to 17 million barrels in 1900. Thus while the production of food more than kept pace with the increase of population, the production of those commodities upon which the new industry depends--coal, petroleum, iron, steel, copper and cement--increased many times more rapidly than the population. During one brief generation the United States, with almost unbelievable rapidity, forged ahead in the essentials for supremacy in the new world of industry. By the time of the Spanish War (1898) American industries had found their stride. During the next fourteen years they were overtaking their European competitors in seven league boots. Between 1900 and 1914 while the population of the United States increased by 30 per cent,--