Note 6 — Chapter VIII

As stated in the preface, several chapters have been omitted from this book on account of limitations of space. The portions of the original manuscript referred to relate to the geography of fisheries, forestry, mining, commerce, agriculture, etc. In discussing each of these themes, the control exerted by natural conditions or environment on human affairs made itself prominent because of the immediate influence of corrective failures when nature's laws are disregarded. A less attractive phase of the study of the relation of man to nature is furnished by political geography, in which the influence of something opposed to environment becomes prominent, and as history shows has in the main exerted a major control over the geography of nations. That something, as is well known, is the greed of peoples. Space is here claimed for a part of my original manuscript for the reason that it presents a view of political adjustments not usually taken and in a way perhaps pessimistical, which may awaken opposition, and also because it contains a summary of the results of a long series of struggles among various nations for the possession of the North American continent. Of greater moment than the rivalries of nations for territory, as is also outlined, is the conflict between two radically different principles of government—the monarchical and the republican—in which this continent has furnished the chief battle-grounds. Did space permit, the influence of geographical conditions on the growth and development of the fundamental ideas of government could be illustrated by American history, and the probability that environment will in the end gain ascendency over local self-interests in the establishing of national boundaries made prominent.