American Business Development

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Dear Student,
Hi. I hope this solution gets to you in time. It took me awhile to confirm a few assumptions I've had about the characters of Undershaft and Babbitt. While normally we use non-fictional characters in the study of business, these characters, fictional in a sense characterize different viewpoints in the course of American development as an economic powerhouse. If you need room to expand, you can use the listed references. Good luck and thank you for using Brainmass.

Sincerely,
OTA 105878/Xenia Jones
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American Economic Development (18th-20th century)

The late 18th century through the mid-19th century were years of American expansion and growth driven by large scale farming in both the North and the South and by the establishment of large industrial distribution and treatment center of highly in demand produce like cotton and grain. This was driven by the invention of varied tools and machines that enhanced the agricultural and production process. It also helped that the steam engine became adapted to all sorts of function from driving trains to powering production plants. Additionally, a push to populate and conquer the Mid-West was funded and fully supported by the government as rush to mine gold; silver and other minerals drove adventurous entrepreneurs and new immigrants all the way to the Pacific Coast. While former outposts and territories were already established, railroads laid down allowed for intensive development in establishment of town and trading centers encouraging industry in the 'frontier'. Mid 19th century saw the violence of the American Civil War when North and South fought each other for control of the young nation - it was much an ideological as it was a political and economic battle. The South depended on cheap labour provided by slavery to operate their massive plantations - they wanted protective government regulation to continue the rural and agricultural lifestyle dependent on trade while the industrial state of the North like New York pushed for and believed that expansion of industry - manufacture of goods for example and not retaining and expansion of slavery was the way to go.

Slavery and equality as it was came into question in relation to the tenets of the constitution. Because both sides couldn't agree, a war broke out. The North or the Yankees in then slang established 'First National Banks' in key cities and towns to finance the war effort. This plus the highly industrialized nature of the North helped secure a victory over the Confederate South. The heavily financed reconstruction of the South by the government assuaged poverty however freed slaves ...