The freedom from oppression was not the only freedom worth fighting for; freedom from poverty or want was also becoming an important factor. The consequences of the Panic of 1873 combined with the plight of the urban poor became such a problem that Frederick Douglass and his administration decided to solve this problem immediately. The stage was set for the blueprint for economic recoveries in the future. In addition, Douglass would also attempt to live up to the dreams of the Founders and largely succeed at it, as well as having a lasting legacy in American globalism.
“Equal rights need to be something in practice as well as on paper.” -Douglass
"In 'British Columbia', a decade feels like a month, and in the United States of America, a month feels like a decade!" - William Sherman
Frederick Douglass
Shortly after his inauguration, President Douglass had already assembled a general plan of development of many areas of the United States of America that needed it, especially after the economic panic. People needed to be brought back to work, and the economy needed to start running again. Increased taxes on corporations and the top bracket of the wealthy had paid for some of the expansion, but it also led the corporations to redouble their efforts in politics, in the hopes Douglass would be voted out of office in the next election cycle. Congress did pass various laws allowing the vision of President Douglass to become a reality. The first problem was the collapse of the banks. A “bank holiday” was therefore held to prevent further decay. This happened four days after his inauguration and after roaring approval from the House of Representatives and the Senate. One reason why Douglass and his administration got the US out of the Panic of 1873 relatively quickly was due to their progressive thinking on economics and that the government should play a part in helping the public and the economy get out of the depression. (This was new for the time; Hayes certainly did not think that way.). Other organization were founded such as the OAF (Office of American Finances)--which was a watchdog organization over large corporations to prevent the abuses of corruption that had exacerbated the economic panic.
The invention of the light bulb by Joseph Swan in 1879 led to the first electrification businesses. Electric power plants also started construction, especially after the invention of alternating current by Nikola Tesla. The British Empire was the first beneficiary of electric power and lights due to Joseph Swan having his laboratories there. Its government also wanted to keep its position as the foremost in the world (or so it claimed) and thought that these advances in science would also benefit its population and raise the government’s popularity. The United States of America had quickly attempted to electrify to raise the standard of living. The construction of several coal plants to get electricity, along with the power lines to transfer it to transforming facilities, and all the other parts of electric apparatuses, were constructed to bring America into the future. (This heavily polluting industry would eventually have an environmental consequence that would show up years later). The program of electrification had vastly outlasted Douglass, who was there only for the start of it; however, future presidents largely continued the electrification processes, to the point that it was largely finished in the United States of America by 1904.
The Panic of 1873 also affected "British Columbia", shocking it out of a relative placidity from the 1860s to the early 1870s. It had faced the repercussions of the Panic of 1873 which affected Great Britain, and there was a small migration that happened where many people (often times blacks) left "British Columbia". At first, the USA had difficulty accepting them especially when it had trouble keeping its own citizens out of poverty—although once there actually was room, people became more accepting of them.
Technological development has always been important for the United States of America. Some of the most interesting technologies arose first there. The time period from the 1870s to the 1890s saw some very interesting technologies. Some advancements made communication easier, and others gave people new ways to see the world. One reason the United States of America quickly became the most advanced scientific center in the world, and one of the most prolific areas in terms of technology and inventions, (with Germany and the British Empire close behind) was due to the cosmopolitan nature of the US. More groups of people, and greater acceptance of them, causes a greater likelihood of those groups working together and bouncing ideas off each other. (Something similar arose in Germany due to scientific councils and was attempted in the British Empire with the Imperial Scientific Foundation, but the latter example ran into classic imperial racism.). The electrification of the United States of America was proceeding from the 1880s to the 1900s. Other advancements changed agriculture, such as the tractor (1890s), which was much more efficient than horses or other beasts of burden. Tractors and the mechanization of agriculture led to greater productivity of fields and a greater crop output. The electric fan, invented in 1882, made the hot summer environments a bit more bearable.
New technologies also changed the way people moved. The most influential of them was the car or automobile. The first car was invented by Gottlieb Daimler in Germany, and examples quickly spread to America. With the growing popularity of cars in the US, American culture would change. The automobile was considered a symbol of liberty, the liberty of transportation. After Henry Ford in the Ford Motor Company invented the mass-production of automobiles, they were now considered tools of the masses. Many Americans who could afford automobiles would buy them. Cars eventually became a symbol of the “everyman” now that they became affordable—and various companies (Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and many others) stepped up to fill the insatiable American demand for cars.
Cars need roads. As a result, a massive roadway improvement process occurred in the United States in the very beginning of the 1900s. The U.S. government would authorize the construction of many new roads, as well as the repair and refurbishment of existing ones. The paving of many roads in the U.S. to connect it would also commence. This program would eventually have the grandiose name of the “Liberty of Transportation Project”, and it would greatly streamline automobile travel in the United States of America. Contracting was expensive, though, and in the early days of construction, accidents often happened. Corrupt contractors were also a large issue, and may have been one reason why accidents were so frequent in the early days of road construction. Partly due to the high rate of accidents, protest movements started to form around the country. These protest movements would force the U.S. government to establish a new regulatory agency, the Department of Automotive Affairs. This agency would regulate roadway safety as well as (years later) automobile safety. Crackdowns on corrupt contractors, including a wave of arrests on bribery charges, also happened in an attempt to clamp down on corruption and its resulting substandard work in many places.