The Great Guano Rush: Entrepreneurs and American Overseas Expansion

How did some of the most savage and desolate islands in the world, scattered across the Pacific and Caribbean, become U.S. territories? The Great Guano Rush describes the fascinating and little-known history of this earliest example of American overseas expansion."Guano" (bird droppings) was the 19th century's most important fertilizer and in 1856 Congress, believing that American farmers were being gouged on guano sales by foreign monopolists, authorized U.S. citizens to claim and exploit unowned guano-rich islands around the world. The legacy of this decision is a strange group of American "appurtenances," ranging from Haiti to the central Pacific and with a highly diverse subsequent history, from the notorious near-slavery on Navassa Island to the contemporary issue of the Johnston Atoll chemical weapon destruction plant.The Great Guano Rush is an important book for its insights on both 19th century America and the history of a key commodity. But it is also important in establishing that, contrary to the American free enterprise myth, the success of this country has always been based on a close cooperation between business and government.

History

Jimmy M. Skaggs

Americas

St.Martin's Press

The little-known history of an early government intervention in business. In 1856, Congress, believing that American farmers were being gouged on sales of guano (bird droppings used as fertilizer), authorized citizens to claim unowned guano-rich islands around the world. The legacy of this decision is a collection of American territories from the Caribbean to the Pacific. Maps.

Business & Money

Economics

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

Cattle-trailing Industry

University of Oklahoma Press

A series of scholarly articles in dealing with Oklahoma from the rush years and shortly thereafter.

Ranch and Range in Oklahoma (The Oklahoma Series, Volume VIII)

Oklahoma University Press

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Books by Jimmy M. Skaggs