From the start, the United States had a major advantage in the form of abundant arable land. As of 1776, the country (at that time, 13 states along the Eastern seaboard) was 430,000 square miles, compared with 88,0o0 for the island of Great Britain, whose population was more than three times larger.55 And that land was productive: Americans consumed 1.4 times more calories per capita than tobacco, rice, and other grains.58 One study found that South Carolina exported more than three- quarters of its rice crop in the 1730s.59 The United States had another natural advantage: navigable waterways. Coastal passages with barrier islands and inland rivers made long-distance shipping efficient. The Mississippi River system alone, made fully accessible by the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, includes more than 6,000 miles of A strong entrepreneurial spirit, together with supporting institutions, both cultivated great minds and encouraged invention. Among the American inventions of this era, the cotton gin (1794) and Short-grain cotton (in the South) was tough to process, and wheat farmers (in the North) faced labor crunches in the short harvesting season. Both inventions significantly increased crop productivity.61 Given soaring demand from the British textile industry during the First Industrial Revolution, cotton exports came to define America's position in the world, while also entrenching slavery in the The United States has historically led in agricultural land per capita. At 250, sustaining America's competitive edge