WI- No British investment in the USA

[Peter Cowan]

To a large extent US industrial development in the mid-late 1800s was bankrolled by investment from the UK. Would the US have developed as successfully if this source of finance had been diverted elsewhere?

 

[chunkeymonkey13q]

The United States would have still probably been able to develop its industry, it just would have taken much longer. In this case, the United States may not have emerged as a world superpower until much later, perhaps as far back as the early to mid twentieth centuy instead of the late nineteenth century and this of course would have greatly affected world politics.

 

[MarkA]

The United States would have still probably been able to develop its industry, it just would have taken much longer. In this case, the United States may not have emerged as a world superpower until much later, perhaps as far back as the early to mid twentieth centuy instead of the late nineteenth century and this of course would have greatly affected world politics.

World superpower in the late nineteenth century perhaps but it was a nett debtor nation until it milked war profits out of the Allies from 1914 to 1918 when it became a nett creditor nation.

Without British investment it would be so far in debt in 1914 it may not have been able to emerge solvent by 1918 at all.

 

[Wozza]

World superpower in the late nineteenth century perhaps but it was a nett debtor nation until it milked war profits out of the Allies from 1914 to 1918 when it became a nett creditor nation.

Without British investment it would be so far in debt in 1914 it may not have been able to emerge solvent by 1918 at all.

Agree wholeheartedly
The interesting question is where else the British might have put the money and with what consequences.
Also it would change the economic picture completely in 1914.
In WW1 the UK manipulated the financial markets so it was cheaper for the Entente to buy goods from the US rather than build them in Europe
now if that isn't an option the economic history of Europe - or some British colonies, might change dramatically