American Economic History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

American Economic History - Essay Example For an approximate of 230 years, the United States has expanded into an economy which is massive, integrated and industrialized. It is known to comprise of close to a quarter of the world economy. All this is attributed to extensive and unified market, substantive political and legal system, extensive farmland that is productive, immense natural resources that include timber, coal, iron, and oil and individuals commitment to invest both material and the human capital. The American economy has sustained high wages in various sectors and this has attracted several immigrants. The overall success has been boosted in America by the key roles of both the technological and the industrial factors. The white Americans viewed the economy of the Indian-American as being primitive. It involved hunting and gathering and later inclusion of farming activities. Today, scholars have highlighted the existence of harmony between the environment and the Indian-American nation’s economic life. Th ey clearly portray the significance of the advice and education provided by the Indian- American to the survival of the European settlers. The American economy during the settlement up to the revolution is considered as colonial. It is known for its provision of raw material which included; crops, iron ore, timber for ships, furs, and cotton to its mother country. Direct economic contact existed between the Great Britain and the colonies. The American colonies fell out with its mother country due to bitterness of their reliance and underlying role in the British Empire economic life. Being in thirteen colonies, the Americans demanded for their rights, they wanted to be independent so that they could be able to elect those who will govern and tax them. This idea was greatly resisted by the British. It led to the introduction of the American Revolution, which resulted in war between the British and the Americans and later independence for the United States of America. With an attempt to bring down the American economy, the British blocked all the ports. However, the American economy remained flexible mainly because majority of its population were farming and a minority being in the cities. Its economy managed to support war that took place between 1775 and 1783. Tremendous growth was witnessed in the American economy between the period of the revolution and the civil war. Though it still remained agricultural, the manufacturing and the industry development was nurtured by the economy. The development of the American politics is attributed to the existence of economic and political competition in the north, west and south sections. Gradually, the nation established an economic system which was unified. The American economic life integration was determined by various technological developments which included invention of steamboat, the railroads and the telegraph, and the growth of new economic enterprises for example telegraph and railroads systems. The railroads had a great impact on the American economy especially between 1850 and 1873. It enabled the country to experience a transition into an urban industrial nation in possession of high finance and superior managerial skills. Railroads made the remote places accessible with costs of freight movement and the