Hundreds of thousands of people would be thrown out of employment, and the whole momentum of the rapidly moving enormous mass of American daily life would receive a violent shock which would strain to its elastic limit every part of the entire machine.
It would take a large book to describe what would ensue from the sudden stoppage of the trade of the United States with countries over the sea.

Such a book would besides be largely imaginative; because in our history such a condition has never yet arisen.

Although wars have happened in the past in which there has been a blockade of our coast more or less complete, peace has been declared before the suffering produced had become very acute; and furthermore the conditions of furious trade which now exist have never existed before.

Disasters would ensue, apart from the actual loss of money, owing simply to the sudden change.

In a railroad-train standing still or moving at a uniform speed, the passengers are comfortable; but if that same train is suddenly brought to rest when going at a high speed, say by collision, the consequences are horrible in the extreme, and the horror is caused _simply by the suddenness of the change_.