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, orchards and grain fields of the Pacific States proved to be an even greater source of wealth than were their mines of gold and silver.

In the forty years following 1860 the number of people in the United States, exclusive of outlying possessions, rose from 31,000,000 to 76,000,000, the wealth of the nation grew from $16,000,000,000 to $89,000,000,000. These figures convey some idea of the progress of the country as a whole. Such an advance was possible only by the most rapid expansion of all the numerous lines of industry to which the resources and energies of the nation were devoted.

The growth of agriculture proceeded on a magnificent scale. Within two decades after the war the United States assumed the leading place among all nations of the world in the production of grain and live stock, maintaining at the same time its supremacy as a producer and exporter of cotton and tobacco. Countless thousands of acres of virgin soil west of the Mississippi River were given away under the provisions of the famous Homestead Act of 1862 and by 1880 the continent was practically settled from one coast to the other. The area of farm lands increased from 407,000,000 acres in 1859 to 841,000,000 acres in 1899, and the value of farm property rose from $8,000,000,000 to $21,000,000,000. The application of machinery to the cultivation of the soil and the substitution of horse and steam power for manual labor multiplied the productivity of each unit of land and labor. In 1899 the country produced from its fields 4,500,000,000 bushels of cereals, 9,500,000 bales of cotton, 79,000,000 tons of hay and 868,000,000 pounds of tobacco. The value of the live stock that year was $3,000,000,000, and the production of dairy products, poultry and eggs amounted to $750,000,000.

The output of the mines increased in value from $219,000,000 in 1869 to $1,107,000,000 in 1899. Over 240,000,000 tons of coal, 27,000,000 tons of iron ore, 270,000 tons of copper, and 63,000,000 barrels of petroleum were taken from the earth during the latter year.

The most significant feature of the economic history of the United States between 1860 and 1900 was the rise of manufacturing. The radical change in tariff policy, the rapid expansion of the home market due to the tremendous growth of agriculture and the spread of railroads, and the presence of an unlimited amount of cheap fuel and raw materials all combined to make manufacturing in some respects the dominant industry of the country. The value of the products of manufactures in 1899 reached a total of $13,000,000,000.

Simultaneously with the expansion of agriculture, the exploitation of natural resources and the rise of manufacturing, partly as an effect of them but almost equally as a cause, came the development of the great transportation system. This was the era of the railroad. Immediately after the war there began a period of extensive construction, over 35,000 miles of line being laid between 1865 and 1874. The first transcontinental line was completed in 1869. Unfortunately the enormous increase of mileage during these years was considerably in excess of the needs of the country, and the speculative fever which attended the expansion resulted in the panic of 1873. After a period of depression of five years there was a second and much greater revival of construction. Between 1878 and 1890 over 85,000 miles of new track were laid, including four transcontinental tracks completed and others partially finished. By 1900 there were 199,000 miles of railroad spreading a vast net over the entire country.

The important result of the growth and improvement of railways was the great reduction in the cost of transportation. At the close of the period before the war it had been demonstrated that railroads could economically carry high grade freight such as flour, live stock, lighter manufactured goods and general merchandise, but as yet they had been unable to compete successfully with waterways for the transportation of grain, and the carriage for long distances of such low-grade freight as coal and ore had not been attempted. As the railway developed, however, its use was extended, and it was soon found that there was no commodity so cheap that it could not be profitably handled. Accompanying the extension of the service to include all kinds of bulky freight there was an uninterrupted decline in the general level of rates on all classes of goods, resulting from the increased efficiency of roads, the stress of competition, and above all from the tremendous increase of traffic. The rate per ton per mile decreased from 1.92 cents in 1867 to 0.73 of a cent in 1900. This reduction of transportation charges was one of the most potent factors determining the course of economic progress. Field, mine, forest and store were linked together into a unified whole; raw materials could be concentrated at any point and there was practically no limit to the extent of the market for finished commodities. The increase of the tonnage of railway freight from less than 20,000,000 tons in 1860 to almost 600,000,000 tons in 1900 is the best index of the growth of internal trade during this period.

As the railways increased in importance, transportation on most of the inland waterways declined. Nearly 1,700 miles of canals were abandoned between 1860 and 1900. After 1880 there was a gradual decrease of nearly all canal and river traffic. The Great Lakes were practically the only inland waterway that retained an important position in internal trade. The unusually favorable conditions prevailing for the growth of traffic on these bodies of water enabled their commerce to thrive and expand at a rate which compared favorably at all times with the growth of railway traffic.

Commerce has been aptly defined as "taking things from where they are plentiful to where they are needed." This being true, the volume of internal commerce of any country must depend upon the number of its people, the total volume of its production, the sectional diversity of its products, the efficiency and cheapness of its transportation, and the freedom from foreign competition in the sale of native commodities in home markets. In