3° 2 



The National Geographic Magazine 



the list of great manufacturing nations 

 to the very head of that list, is a task 

 which fully compensates the student, 

 in a renewed admiration for the history 

 of our people and a renewed faith in 

 their future. 



The first attempt at a census of manu- 

 factures in the United States was in 

 1810, when the total value was found 

 to be, in round terms, $200,000,000. 

 The census figures of manufactures in 

 1820 and 1830 were incomplete, but 

 those of 1840 were about a half billion 

 dollars ; those of 1850, about one bil- 

 lion ; i860, nearly two billions: 1870, 

 over four billions ; 1880, about 5^ bil- 

 lions ; 1890, more than 9 billions, and 

 1900, 13 billions. The actual increase 

 from decade to decade, still speaking in 

 round terms, was: from 1850 to i860, 

 nearly one billion dollars; i860 to 1870, 

 over two billions ; 1870 to 1880, one bil- 

 lion ; 1880 to 1890, four billions, and 

 1890 to 1900, 3j4 billions. In round 

 terms, it may be said that the growth 

 in the first half of the century was one 

 billion, and in the second half 12 bil- 

 lions of dollars. 



The slow growth in the first half of 

 the century is due in part to the fact 

 that a large share of the manufacturing 

 was still performed in the household. 

 While the factory system of manufact- 

 ure began to take the place of that of 

 the household in England in the closing 

 years of the iSth century, especially as 

 related to textiles, it did not obtain a 

 foothold in the United States until dur- 

 ing the period of the embargo and the 

 War of 181 2, and it was not until about 

 1840 that it became general ; and as late 

 as the middle of the century a consid- 

 erable share of the manufacturing was 

 still carried on in the family or in the 

 small shop by the aid of the family and 

 apprentices, as distinguished from the 

 factory with paid employes and the 

 application of power. Hence it is not 

 surprising that the census of 1850 

 showed manufactures amounting to but 



one billion dollars' value, while the 

 chief cause for astonishment is the won- 

 derful growth which has occurred since 

 that time — a growth from one billion 

 dollars in 1850 to 13 billions in 1900. 



I shall therefore confine my analysis 

 of the growth of manufactures and its 

 causes chiefly to the last half of the 

 century, and in this I rely largely upon 

 some charts and diagrams, by the use 

 of which the eye may aid the mind in 

 readily comparing the relative figures 

 which mark the stages of growth. 

 Necessarily the figures of manufactures 

 as a whole can only be stated at decen- 

 nial periods, for it is only by the na- 

 tional census that this great task of 

 measuring the operations of the national 

 workshop is undertaken, and I am proud 

 to say that the United States takes this 

 measurement much more effectively and 

 more in detail than any other nation of 

 the world. 



Before beginning this analysis, I will 

 say in general terms that the census 

 figures show that the number of manu- 

 facturing establishments has grown 

 from 123,025 in 1850 to 512,339, or four 

 times as many in 1900 ; the sums paid 

 insalaries and wages, from $236,755,464 

 to $2,732,821,528, or 12 times as much 

 as in 1850, and the value of the manu- 

 factures from $1,019,106,616 to $13,- 

 039,279,566, or 13 times as much as in 

 1850. 



It is proper to add that the figures of 

 the total value of manufactures are 

 merely an aggregation of the values re- 

 ported by all manufacturers, and as the 

 products reported by one manufacturer 

 often become the materials for use by 

 others, the figures of the grand total are 

 to that extent duplications. For ex- 

 ample, the leather reported as a manu- 

 facture by the tanner becomes the ma- 

 terial used by the manufacturer of boots 

 and shoes, and is a second time reported 

 by him in stating the value of the manu- 

 factures turned out. The yarn pro- 

 duced by one manufacturer becomes 



