The New NationPaxson, Frederic L. (Frederic Logan)
History
The New Nation
Paxson, Frederic L. (Frederic Logan)
United States -- History -- 1865-1921
A great commercial revival, affecting the whole United States, began
during the Administration of Hayes. Ingersoll had predicted it, in
defining his candidate in 1876, when he declared: "The Republicans of
the United States demand a man who knows that prosperity and resumption,
when they come, must come together; that when they come, they will come
hand in hand through the golden harvest-fields; hand in hand by the
whirling spindles and the turning wheels; hand in hand past the open
furnace doors; hand in hand by the flaming forges; hand in hand by the
chimneys filled with eager fire, greeted and grasped by the countless
sons of toil." In every section and in every occupation commerce revived
during 1878 and 1879. Manufactures began to invade the South;
mining-booms gave new life to the camps of the Far West; the wheat-lands
of the Northwest, reached by the "Granger" railroads and cultivated by
great power machines, produced a new type of bonanza farming; in the
Southwest and on the plains great droves of cattle produced a new type
of cattle king; and the factory towns of the East began again to grow.
Connecting the various sections, the railroads played a new part, and
built more miles of track in the next ten years than in any decade
before or since. The whole country awoke as from an anaesthetic, tested
its muscles to find that they were stronger than ever, and set to work
again.
The silent evidence of the United States Treasury testifies to the
prosperity of the next ten years. The average expenditures of the United
States from 1850 to 1860 were under $60,000,000; they ranged between
1880 to 1890 from $244,000,000 to $297,000,000 without exhausting the
supply. Yearly, despite the heavy drains upon it, a surplus accumulated
to the embarrassment of the Government and the demoralization of
Congress. The aggregate accumulation for ten years was over
$1,000,000,000.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account