Problems in American Democracy Part 9

4. Fetter, _Modern Economic Problems,_ chapter i.

5. King, _Wealth and Income of the People of the United States,_ chapter iii.

QUESTIONS ON THE REQUIRED READINGS

1. Describe briefly each of the six regions into which continental United States may be divided. (Bogart, pages 11-12.)

2. Why has the animal life of the North American continent declined in significance since colonial times? (Bogart, page 8.)

3. Into what five divisions may the forests of the United States be cla.s.sified? (Bishop and Keller, pages 27-28.)

4. What may be said as to the temperature of the United States?

(Bogart, pages 12-13.)

5. What may be said as to the extent of rainfall in the United States?

(Bogart, page 13.)

6. Explain the importance of water power in the United States.

(Bogart, pages 3-4.)

7. What changes in farm land values have been brought about in the last century? (King, pages 22-27.)

8. Discuss the value of urban land in the United States. (King, pages 15-21.)

9. Why is it extremely difficult to measure the wealth of the United States? (Fetter, pages 6-10.)

TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND REPORT

I

1. Trace the growth in the population of your state since 1880. What have been the chief sources of this increase?

2. To what extent has the population of your state been affected by immigration from Europe? What attracts immigrants to your state? Have there been any changes in the character of this immigration since 1880?

3. Cla.s.sify the population of your state on the basis of occupation.

(Secure data from the State Board of Labor, or State Bureau of Statistics.)

4. Estimate the material wealth of your community. What light does the result throw upon the difficulties of summarizing the wealth of the nation?

5. Discuss the importance in the economic life of your section of

(a) Agriculture,

(b) Mining,

(c) Forestry,

(d) Manufacturing.

II

6. The economic geography of your section. (Consult Dryer, _Elementary Economic Geography_.)

7. A comparison of America three hundred years ago with the America of to-day. (Price, _The Land We Live In_, chapters i and ii.)

8. Character of the American population. (Burch and Patterson, _American Social Problems_, chapter ix.)

9. An a.n.a.lysis of the American character. (Bryce, _The American Commonwealth_, vol. ii, chapters cxiv and cxv.)

10. Ways of getting a living. (Carver, _Elementary Economics_, chapter xv.)

11. Geographical distribution of cities and industries in the United States. (Semple, _American History and Its Geographic Conditions,_ chapter xvi.)

12. Agricultural industries in the United States. (Bishop and Keller, _Industry and Trade,_ part ii. Smith, _Commerce and Industry,_ chapters i, in, iv, v, and vi.)

13. Animal industries in the United States. (Bishop and Keller, _Industry and Trade,_ part iii. Smith, _Commerce and Industry_, chapter ii.)

14. Power. (Smith, _Commerce and Industry_, chapter ix.)

15. Mineral industries in the United States. (Bishop and Keller, Industry and Trade, part iv. Smith, _Commerce and Industry_, chapters viii, xiii, xiv, and xv.)

16. Manufacturing industries in the United States. (Bishop and Keller, _Industry and Trade_, part v.)

17. Trade routes of North America. (Smith, _Commerce and Industry_, chapter xvi.)

18. The foreign trade of the United States. (Dryer, _Elementary Economic Geography_, chapter x.x.xii. See also any other recently published text on this general field.)

CHAPTER VII

WHAT IS MEANT BY PRODUCTION

63. WHY MEN WORK.--Ultimately everyone depends upon work for his living. Young children commonly live upon the earnings of their parents; most normal adults, on the other hand, depend upon their own efforts for their living. Since every individual probably works because of a combination of motives, it is possible somewhat to a.n.a.lyze the reasons why men work. The most fundamental reason for working is in order to preserve one's life. This a.s.sured, the individual is in a position to work in order to preserve the lives of those who are near and dear to him. When the necessities of life have been provided, work is commonly continued for the sake of acquiring comforts or luxuries.

Under a well-regulated legal system these efforts of the individual also benefit the community, but until he is able to support himself and his family, the average individual does not consciously make the public interest the chief end of his labors. However altruistic a man may be, he will not be able to labor consistently in behalf of others, unless he will thereby serve his own interests as well, or unless his personal needs have already been met.

64. THE OLD WAY OF GETTING A LIVING.--The economic history of eighteenth century England ill.u.s.trates two rather distinct methods of getting a living, one of which may be called the old, and the other the new. Up to about the middle of the century, the ma.s.ses of Englishmen, in common with the people of other countries, got a very poor living. Most common necessities were made in the home and for purely family use. Shoes, clothing, tools, and similar articles were produced laboriously and on a small scale. In comparison with industrial conditions in the nineteenth century, there was at that time little industrial cooperation [Footnote: By cooperation is here meant simply the working together of different persons or groups of persons. Cooperation in this sense is to be distinguished from cooperation as discussed in Chapter XII.], little division of labor, little suspicion that men were, in spite of hard work engaged in for long hours, getting a very poor living. The trouble was, partly, that men had not yet fully realized the possibilities of helping one another, and partly that they were ignorant of how to make Nature really an efficient aid in getting them a living.

65. THE NEW WAY OF GETTING A LIVING.--After the middle of the eighteenth century the invention of a series of remarkable machines enabled Englishmen greatly to increase their productivity, first in the manufacture of textiles, and later in numerous other industries.

By subdividing their labor more and more minutely, and by each specializing in the particular type of work which he could do best, men found that their total output could be greatly increased. This complex division of labor, made possible by the use of water and steam power to run machines and to move vehicles of transportation, reduced the difficulty of getting a good living, that it const.i.tuted a veritable revolution in industry. Indeed, this change is known in history as the Industrial Revolution.

66. EFFECTS OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.--In the last century and a half the Industrial Revolution has spread to every important civilized country in the world, everywhere encouraging the application of machine methods to more and more industries. This change from production on a small scale, and often by hand, to large-scale production in factories equipped with complex machines, has had important results. It has so increased our control over Nature that even the humblest workman of to-day enjoys many comforts denied kings a few centuries ago. On the other hand, the Industrial Revolution has tended to create a numerous cla.s.s which depends entirely upon wages, and to set off against this cla.s.s an employing group which possesses and controls most of the income-producing equipment of industry. The significance of this last development will become clearer as we go along.