The book was undertaken at the request of the Board Of School Commissioners of Mobile County for use in the public schools, but I have endeavored to make its scope wide enough for general use also, since it is the only work covering the subject from the beginning. Many things and many men are omitted whom I would like to mention; but from the necessity of the case I have had to make a selection from the mass of facts available, and I have had to omit much that I would like to use. This applies especially to the period since the War, which is one of great economic interest, and yet difficult to handle now because the events and people are so close to us. For the last two decades I have tried to give tendencies rather than detailed facts. I have aimed at clearness rather than ornament in the style and the facts I hope are told so as to be readily under stood. With this object the book is divided into sections.