Possible essay topicsStrengths and weaknesses of the American economyThe future of USD as a global currencyIs the double deficit of the American economy

sustainable?Future of American economy – prosperity or collapse?Lessons from the Great Depression (1929-33)The role of entrepreneurship in the economic success

of the USAAmerican health care reform – is Obamacare

successful?The role of innovation in the American economy

doc. Ing. Tomáš Dudáš, PhD.

USA – A new nation stateThe Thirteen Colonies began a rebellion against British rule in

1775 and proclaimed their independence in 1776 Americans in the Thirteen Colonies demanded their rights as

Englishmen to select their own representatives to govern and tax them

The 1783 Treaty of Paris represented Great Britain's formal acknowledgement of the United States as an independent nation.

The original 13 member states - Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island

1789 – new constitution (federation state)

Westward expansion (1789–1849)

1803 – Lousiana purchase From France for 15 million USD It doubled the territory of the USA

1819 – Treaty with SpainFlorida

1845 – Texas joins the USATexas became independent from Mexico in 1836

1846 – Border treaty with BritainOregon country

1848 – Mexican cessionAfter a war with Mexico USA gained what is

today Calirornia, Utah, Nevada, part of Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico

1853 – Gadsden purchaseFrom Mexico

1867 – Pruchase of AlaskaFrom Russia

1898 – Annexation of Hawaii1899 – Annexation of Puerto Rico

Division of the landBy 1853, the land area of the USA was 7,6

million km2

Two thirds of this land was still empty and in the public domain

The government had a plan of land disposal, but nothing went according the plan

Land speculation and corruption were common

Basic population data between 1790 and 1860

Total (millions)

White Nonwhite Urban

1790 3,9 82,1 % 17,9 % 5,2 %

1800 5,3 81,1 % 18,9 % 6,1 %

1810 7,2 81,9 % 18,1 % 7,3 %

1820 9,6 82,3 % 17,7 % 7,2 %

1830 12,9 81,4 % 18,6 % 8,7 %

1840 17,1 83,0 % 17,0 % 10,8 %

1850 23,2 84,5 % 15,5 % 15,3 %

1860 31,4 85,7 % 14,3 % 19,8 %

Basic population factsBy 1860 the population of the USA exceeded that of

United Kingdom and from the European countries only France and Russia had larger populations

The population growth was approximately 3,3 % from 1790, which meant that the population doubled roughly every 23 years

Very high fertility – 55 births per 100o persons (15,7 in 1993)Very young population – in 1820 the median age was

less than 17 yearsPlentiful landRural/urban division

Immigration before 1860Policy of unrestricted immigration Until the 1830s the number of immigrants was not

really significant 1821-1825 – annual average number of immigrants 8 000 1826-1830 – annual average number of immigrants 20 587

Series of poor harvests and the failure of potato crops in Europe 1831-1835 – 50 498 1836-1840 – 69 330 1841-1845 – 86 067

Huge inflows of immigrants between 1845/1850 – 1,4 million people and between 1850/1857 2,2 million people

Immigration - sourcesThe first upsurge came from the British Isles

Famine in Ireland (more than 1 million dead in the 1840s)

Between 1846-1855 approx. 1,3 million Irish entered the US officially

The events of 1848 created a new wave of immigrantsNearly 1 million of German speaking immigrantsHarvest failures

Labor dataIn 1860 the US labor force numbered 11

million (35 % of the total population)

Approx. 79 % of these (58 % free and 21 % slave) worked in the agriculture

In 40 years, the proportion of the agriculture was cut in half

Transportation and urbanizationGovernment improved transportation for the new settlers

Turnpikes - intercity toll roads (27 800 miles in 1820) Not very profitable business – profit rate of 3-4 %

Canals – great canal building era between 1815 and 1843 PPP projects First success – Erie Canal in 1825

Steamboats Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri rivers 817 steamboats in operation in 1860

Railroads Total investment in railroads up to 1860 was more than 1

billion USD

SlaveryThe enslavement of Africans in the USA began in

1619 at JamestownBlack slaves were servants for life, their children

were born into slavery

1780 – nearly half a million of slaves concentrated in the South

Expansion of slavery in the 19th centuryProduction of cotton

By 1860 most slaves were freed in the North and in the Middle colonies, leaving the South the major user of slaves

US Civil war 1861-1865 The divisions on slavery became fully exposed with the 1860

presidential election

Lincoln, (Republican), won with a plurality of popular votes and a majority of electoral votes. Lincoln, however, did not appear on the ballots of ten southern states: thus his election necessarily split the nation along sectional lines.

11 states seceded from the USA and established the Confederate States of America

Northern leaders had viewed the slavery interests as a threat politically, and with secession, they viewed the prospect of a new southern nation, the Confederate States of America, with control over the Mississippi River and the West, as politically and militarily unacceptable.

January 1st 1863 - Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation