EconAir

  Earliest known photograph of slaves and cotton, around 1850 Brigit Katz, Smithsonian Magazine, December 6, 2019 A New Nation, America from 1789 to 1860 If you study American history from 1789 to 1860 (just before the start of the Civil War), the political history is very complicated. But remember what caused most of these political conflicts and uneasy compromises - the dynamic changes in the underlying economy. Two in particular – the spectacular increase in slave-produced cotton and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in America. They were related.   What is the Industrial Revolution? At its heart it is power-driven metal machinery producing huge quantities of goods. At first, the power was supplied by steam engines and water wheels. Later, in the 20 th  century, electricity. All of this used huge amounts of fossil fuels – first coal, later oil and natural gas were added. America had huge quantities of all three.   A trend that continued from colonial time...

  The Pantheon   Remember, Roman, that it is yours to lead other people. It is your special gift.      Virgil,  The Aeneid   We are the indispensable nation.  We stand tall.  We see further into the future.      Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright A Roman General Comes to Washington                  Imagine an educated patrician Roman officer from around 20 BC. He has spent most of his military career in the last decades of the Roman Republic and now is a legion commander in the first years of the Roman Empire of Caesar Augustus. Rome is at the height of its power and influence, acquired through conquest during the Roman Republic. Now imagine he is transported through time to today’s Washington. After marveling at the new technology (horseless chariots?), like any curious tourist he would start to look for similarities to his hometown, Rome.   The similarities...