Summary: Maps Late
Page 1: Industrial America
As the Civil War ends, America is already entering the utterly transformative Industrial Era, triggered by a sudden rise in iron and coal production
Page 2: Surge of Manufacturing
Steam engines provide the power to run big new factories, but the transformative trigger is newly-accessible coal, America's first cheap and wildly abundant fuel
Page 3: Immigrant Labor
As coal enables widespread adoption of steam-powered equipment, a huge new wave of immigrants from northern Europe provides the manpower to operate the machinery
Page 4: America's Midwestern Breadbasket
While manufacturing output rises everywhere, farmers in the Midwest and Northeast focus on producing corn and wheat for export, wool for textiles, and hay for livestock
Page 5: Railroads and Western Irrigation
Railroads and land grants support spreading urbanization, while the first rail lines to the Pacific coast enable new prairie settlement, and irrigated western ranching
Page 6: Big Steel
A cheap new process to convert iron into steel drives the development of huge new iron fields in Minnesota, while gold and silver pour from western mines
Page 7: End of Century
As the century ends, so do Texas cattle drives, while Indians are sent to reservations, gold is discovered in Alaska, and America seeks empire during the Spanish-American war
Page 8: New Century
The Industrial Era shifts into high gear, while railroad expansion hits a wall, and oilfields are developed in Texas, Oklahoma and California, just in time for the coming Automobile Age
Page 9: Crops, cattle and Irrigation
Corn, wheat, cotton and hay are the main crops, while Midwestern farmers turn increasingly to livestock for income, and western ranchers use irrigation to help feed their cattle
Page 10: Industrial War and Communists
Industrial weapons lead to mass slaughter but little battlefield advantage, while Stalin industrializes the Soviet Union, Roosevelt battles the Depression, and autos conquer America
Page 11: Hitler Unleashes Madness
Under Hitler, Germany pivots from revitalization to military expansion, quickly subduing Europe, but failing to defeat the British before turning unwisely towards Russian oilfields
Page 12: Wider War
Hitler is stopped before gaining Russian oil, then reels before Russian counterattack, while Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor brings America into the war, and submarine warfare intensifies
Page 13: Disaster in Russia
Winter stops Hitler's advance at Moscow, while the tables are turned at Stalingrad, Allies bomb the German homeland, and advance up Italy, while America pushes slowly towards Japan
Page 14: Final Collapse
D-Day invasion liberates France, and Soviets uncover concentration camp horrors as they push to Berlin, where Hitler finally commits suicide, while Japan hangs on, virtually helpless
Page 15: America Drops the Bomb
Atomic bombs vaporizes two Japanese cities, forcing final Japanese surrender, while the Soviets retain control over all territory in their reach, starting a new Cold War that splits Europe
Page 16: Cold War Hostility
Soviets export communism worldwide, threatening nuclear Armageddon, and smuggling missiles into Cuba, but backing down in the pinch, while Arabs exploit control of oil
Page 17: Soviets Collapse, Muslims Attack
America pulls back under Reagan, while the Soviets get bogged down in Afghanistan, then suddenly implode, leaving a vacuum that leads to 9-11 attack in New York
Page 18: Nuclear Threat Remains
The new Russian Federation maintains the old Soviet bases, while China and America maintain their own, with missile systems intact, and nuclear powerplants widely distributed
Page 19: Globally-Connected Risks
All countries share the same shipping lanes, but also the same atmosphere and oceans, allowing contagion and garbage to circulate globally, while food and water are often locally scarce
Page 20: Global Economic Competition
Oil is the great disruptor, as all nations need it, but not all can produce the quantities they need, leading to an unusual concentration of wealth in the Mideast
Page 21: Ongoing American Concerns
Even as America leads all other nations in technical sophistication, nagging problems remain that seem to defy remedy, particularly relating to wealth, health and gun violence
Page 22: Red States and Blue States
America today is deeply divided, with almost no middle ground between hard-right religious conservatives, and leftist liberal elites, leading to political stalemate
Page 23: Fully-connected World
Almost all humans are now connected by the internet, which could promote harmony, but in practice acts to intensify differences, while wealth concentrates in a few financial centers
Page 24: American Growth Summary
Technology continues to power business, while social media giants hook Americans on a continuous drip of streamed novelties, promoting isolation, addiction and conflict