Our National Progress

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jan 15, 1885

Our National Progress.

WHILE the Washington Monument has been building, we have chronicled the history of nine political administrations, witnessed the birth and death of nine political parties, and passed through a terrible civil war, four financial strains, and established the best banking system in the world. The great republic in the meantime has grown from 23,000,000 to 55,000,000 people, and in material wealth from $7,400,000,000, or $320 per inhabitant, to $57,000,000,000, or $1,000 per capita. When the National Monument was begun, Great Britain possessed five times the wealth owned by the United States, and while the wealth of the former country has only doubled within the last four decades, that of the latter has increased twelvefold. As to the constituent factors of American progress in their aggregate in the four decades they are sufficient to buy up the whole Austrian Empire several times over; or pay for the aggregate value of the "effete" monarchies of Italy, Holland, and Belgium almost three times over during that period. Our tilled acreage has increased from 50,000,000 to 170,000,000 acres; the crops have increased in the value from $415,000,000 to $2,500,000,000 and the cattle have increased in value from $380,000,000 to $1,840,000,000. Our imports have increased from $178,000,000 to $668,000,000, and our exports from $152,000,000 to $836,000,000.—N. Y. Graphic.