The American Invaders: Their Plans, Tactics and Progress

# Catalog Note

The American Invaders: Their Plans, Tactics and Progress (1901), by Fred A. McKenzie, is a polemical economic analysis arguing that American commercial enterprise has displaced British industrial dominance. McKenzie surveys competitive incursions across numerous industries: iron and steel manufacture, shipping, cotton, coal, pharmaceuticals, printing machinery, telephone systems, and electric traction. Through case studies—notably the Encyclopaedia Britannica sales campaign by Chicago businessmen, and match manufacturer Barber's acquisition of Bryant & May's factories through superior machinery innovation—McKenzie demonstrates how American capital, systematic mechanization, and aggressive sales tactics have captured British markets. He contends Americans exploit lower costs and continuous technological investment to undercut established English firms. The volume documents American commercial penetration of Canada, South Africa, and the Antipodes, examines advantages in trade union organization, legislative framework, and railway infrastructure, and concludes with recommendations for British industrial recovery through renewed competition and workforce modernization.