Brandon Ingram

ECON-1740-401-Su14
ePortfolio Assignment

The science of economics has played an important role throughout the history of the United
States. To fund the American Revolution, Congress tried issuing paper money two different times. The
first issuance came in 1775 and ended in 1780. This printing of 242 million dollars did not go well. By the
time the holders were paid off in 1791 it was at the rate of one cent on the dollar. The second issuance
from 1780 to 1781 became worthless even more quickly, but was redeemed at a rate of one hundred
cents to the dollar in 1791. At the same time these issuances had occurred, several states had issued
their own currencies. All of this paper money that was being issued was, in a way, the only method of
taxation at the time (as the article states, a hidden tax). The problem with this much paper money
being printed is inflation. In order to avoid skyrocketing inflation in todays economy, strict regulations
have been put into place on the printing of money. States are not printing their own money, and instead
of hidden taxes, we have actual taxes that are transparent and allow citizens greater ability to plan for
the future. These taxes have been put in place in order to fund governing affairs and, hopefully stabilize
the state of the economy.
Those colonists that were the most severely impacted in a negative way by the printing of so
much currency that became worthless, was the Continental Army and their families. The military, today,
is being impacted in negative ways due to the current state of the economy. There are proposals to
decrease the wages of military personnel. The opportunity for military career advancement is lacking,
even for those who planned to remain with the military.
Why did the North win the Civil War? The North was more economically intelligent and
prepared for the war. The treasury sold the idea that the payment of taxes by citizens was a patriotic
sacrifice not unlike that of the physical losses of the soldiers. By selling the taxes in this way, the North
was able to fund the war, while not crippling their economy. Through this tactic as well as by paying
upfront for their supplies with actual money, suppliers were cooperative and willing to sell to the
government, even if they werent of the same political ideology. In comparison, the Confederacys policy
of taking goods and leaving IOUs (promissory notes of uncertain value), did not work out so well.
Instead of causing loyal Confederate patriots want to sell their goods to the Confederate government,
they would endeavor to keep the goods out of Confederacy hands.
War caused the nations largest industry to thrive. Agriculture spread like wildfire, due to the
strong need by the army and by Britain. Inventions that aided in everyday jobs were being made left and
right. Another driving force for these inventions being made was because most of the men who worked
the farms were at war, so the women and children took over in their place. By having these tools, they
were able to meet with the supply and demand of agricultural goods. In life today, homesteads are few
and far between, but are recently starting to swing back into trend. There has been an influx of people
wanting to become more self-reliant. D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) projects have started springing up
everywhere and the Jack-of-all-Trades persona is stepping out of the division of labor line-up.
Much of todays industry in the United States can find its groundwork in the Second Industrial
Revolution. A lot of the wealth accrued during this time was centered on rich tycoons that were
idolized and held huge sway within the government. The personalities of these men ran from lavish,
exuberant lifestyles, to those who were more modest and giving. This time period was in a way an
economic rollercoaster ride. The good times would be followed by a series of recessions and then the
Long Depression. During this time frame, the gold standard won over the silver standard in the 1896
election. The book The Wizard of Oz makes reference to these gold and silver standards by way of the
yellow brick road and the silver shoes as being ways for Dorothy to make it home.
Up until the time period of 1890-1920, America tried to keep the government out of economic
affairs. However, muckrakers, such as Upton Sinclair and his novel, The Jungle, encouraged their readers
to push for more government regulation. As a direct result of The Jungle, the Food and Drug
Administration was created. There were several other regulatory agencies that sprung up during this
time, including the Federal Reserve, which still dominates the financial world today.
Another notable achievement of this period was Henry Fords assembly line. Henry Ford was
one of the more philanthropic tycoons, and subscribed to Progressive notions. Ford was known to pay a
generous wage to his employees. His argument for this was that mass production would fail if
employees could not afford the products. However, this generous wage was not given to women and
Ford had a department that closely monitored his employees spending habits. He was making sure that
this extra pay they received was not being wasted on frivolous or unimportant things. There is a lot that
can be learned to take precaution in todays economy, by studying the economic choices of the past.

When I first started this course I wasnt so sure about wanting to take it. My wife signed me up
for it and thought that it would be a good course for me to take. It has been a great experience for me
to look at the history of the United States in a different way than any other history class I have taken. I
enjoyed learning more about how much impact economics actually played in the formation and growth
of the United States. It probably shouldnt surprise me how much of a role it plays, but I guess it wasnt
something I really thought a whole lot about.