History of anthracite coal mining in Pennsylvania increasing production levels but an overall trend of falling prices. In 1830 anthracite coal was selling for $11 per ton, in 1840 it was $7 per ton, and by 1860 it was $5.50 a ton in NYC, while total production was increasing (Adams, “US Coal Industry”). This was due in part to a general anti-charter sentiment towards the coal industry by the Pennsylvania state government, making it difficult for coal corporations to receive charters (Adams, “Different Charters”), as well as a seasonal market that experienced fluctuation in demand for anthracite (Dublin, Licht, 17). The onset of the war brought an
What a piece of work is a man lines written by Montaigne: However, rather than being a direct influence on Shakespeare, Montaigne may have merely been reacting to the same general atmosphere of the time, making the source of these lines one of context rather than direct influence. What a piece of work is a man "What a piece of work is man!" is a phrase within a soliloquy by Prince Hamlet in William Shakespeare's play of the same name. Hamlet is reflecting, at first admiringly, and then despairingly, on the human condition. The soliloquy, spoken in the play by Prince Hamlet to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Act