"American industry" are so numerous and so varied that a description
of all of them would carry us beyond the limits of this chapter.
Nevertheless, it is important that we secure some understanding of
these activities. A few pages may profitably be spent, therefore, in
discussing certain basic facts of American industry.

53. FAVORABLE LOCATION OF THE UNITED STATES.--Let us commence by
noting that the location of the United States is favorable to the
development of industry. Of the two American continents, the northern
has the greater natural advantages. Each continent is roughly in the
form of a triangle with the apex or smaller end pointing southward,
but whereas the larger end of the South American triangle is within
the tropic zone and only the tapering end is within the more favorable
temperate zone, the greater part of the North American triangle is
within the temperate zone. With regard to location for world trade the
northern continent again has the advantage: the ports of South America
face a relatively empty ocean on the west and the little-developed
continent of Africa on the east; the ports of North America, in
addition to being more numerous and more suitable for commerce than
those of the southern continent, face the teeming Orient on the west,
and the great markets of Europe on the east. Moreover, the United
States occupies the choicest portions of the North American continent.
Our neighbor Canada has a cold and snow-bound frontier on her north,
while on our south Mexico and the Central American countries lie near
the tropics. The heart of temperate America, on the other hand, is
included within the territory of the United States.

54. POPULATION.--Scarcely less important than the favorable location
of the United States is the character of the people occupying the
country. From less than four million in 1790, our population has