OF THE UNITED STATES. BY ISAAC LIPPINCOTT, PH.D. PROFESSOR OF ECONOMIC RESOURCES 16 PREFACE The business achievements of the last hundred years, with all they signify for the satisfaction of human wants, are a remarkable performance. They are a revelation of what man can do in this respect when his attention is focused strongly on the pursuit of wealth. It may be assumed that the student is interested not only in what has been done, but why it was done. That is to say, while the mere record of our industrial advance may be of interest, the surpassing object of study is the forces that have brought about our unusual economic development. No study of our industrial past would be satisfactory which failed from this point of view. If we are merely seekers after practical things, the causes are certainly important, for in these are to be found an explanation of what has been accomplished; these causes also provide a basis for the criticism of our past industrial policy, and they must be understood in formulating a policy for the future. In this volume I have treated the subject matter of economic history as a record of development. Throughout the study an attempt has been made to bring together causes and results. Herein the student will find most of the economic material with which he is familiar, with some additions perhaps to suit the particular emphasis of our study. Emphasis has been laid on the development and use of raw materials, on technical improvements, on the growing use of by-products, on the expansion of our industrial organization, on the growing specialization in all branches of industry, on the introduction and development of numerous commercial facilities, on the growth of government regulation, 424811 |