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Andrew Higgins Essay

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Higgins: America’s Transportation To A Brighter Future Towards the end of the 1930s, the United States government was preparing itself to progress from one despondency to another. Because the Great Depression was nearing its final months and the threat of becoming involved in the European war continuously intensified, it was decided that substantial amounts of energy, along with an ascending budget, was to be focused on developing military boats that could haul soldiers from ships to open beaches. In New Orleans, Andrew Jackson Higgins was known for manufacturing Eureka Boats, or shallow-watercrafts that assisted in the exploration of oil and gas throughout the Louisiana bayous. After many failed attempts Higgins was able to adapt his design …show more content…

Andrew Higgins was able to bestow among the American public, along with citizens and leaders from other nations, that the American Dream was possible, no matter one’s background. Raised in Columbus, then Omaha, Higgins had an interesting character. Known as an intelligent entrepreneur, he also had a reputation as a troublesome child; he was eventually expelled out of four schools and he never graduated high school. After serving a term in the Nebraska Army Guard, Higgins traveled to the Gulf Coast in the 1920s, where he eventually started a lumber business in New Orleans(Tobias). However, his work required boats in order to receive wood out of shallow water areas and swamps, thus the creation of Higgins Boats, which would eventually grow into Higgins Industries. One can conclude that Higgins never received a degree in engineering, therefore he might not been the smartest boy on the block, some may say he was even a dreamer, but he forced his intricate ideas to become reality with the help of engineers and architects. that did not stop him from growing Higgins Industries to the empire it became. For the public to be able to view Higgins’s success was imperative at the time because it provided a ray of light in the dark cave many entrepreneurs were stuck in. Higgins Industries’s achievement allowed for America to push towards an era of prosperity. As for leaders in other countries, they began to fear Higgins because of the inspiration he was. “Even Hitler knew of Higgins, calling him the New Noah (Hiatt).” He, along with the rest of the world, feared that Higgins would create a domino effect, causing the United States to become an even stronger leading world power, therefore causing Europe's leading powers to

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