History of the United States II / Unit 7 USH2 0904 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Markets Abroad
The idea
American exports grew from two hundred thirty-four million dollars in eighteen sixty-five to six hundred five million in eighteen seventy-five, and reached one point three billion dollars a year by eighteen ninety-eight. Imports grew far more slowly, from two hundred thirty-eight million to six hundred sixteen million over the same years. Digital History adds that a quarter of the nation's farm products and half its petroleum were sold overseas.
In practice
Exports and imports almost level in eighteen sixty-five, and exports double imports by eighteen ninety-eight.
Where people slip
Read the two lines together. A country selling twice what it bought depended on customers abroad, and securing them became a question of policy. That dependence, more than any one idea, is why business leaders took a new interest in foreign affairs. These are historical sums compared across the same years, and they are not converted to present values.
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