Globalization, where economies are concerned, encompass viewing economic and financial issues, instruments, and investments from a global rather than a national perspective. If we examine two time periods in American history (1880-1900 & 1980-2000), we can see similarities and differences between the global economy then and the global economy now. The late 19th Century was a period when the industrial revolution helped America achieve unprecedented status in the global economy, just as the technology or information age has done in the latter part of the 20th century. However, freer trade among nations and markets, the spread of democracy and the erosion of communism, and technology, have made the global economy at present much broader, less border-oriented, and vastly different than the one that existed in 1880-1900.
From 1860-1900 vast changes swept America and the global economy because of the industrial revolution. American factories produced an enormous amount of goods as manufacturing replaced agriculture as the chief source of economic growth. By 1890, most of the American labor force was employed in nonagricultural pursuits and a rural society was transforming into a nation of industrial laborers living in urban areas. Heavy industry rapidly grew from 1880-1900. New technology produced innovations in the steel industry. National transportation (railroads) and communications (Western Union) networks were created. New energy sources transformed American industry into one of mass production and mass marketing. Like America invests in other nations, so the huge amounts of capital necessary to achieve this economic revolution came in part from other nations “The completion of the national railroad network required another $10 billion. British, French, and German investors saw American railroads as a good investment; ultimately foreigners contributed a third of the sum needed to complete the system.”
Other America...