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According to (George) Washington, once we appreciate how our own well-being, prosperity and liberties are all the products of living in this country, as opposed to any other, we will become natural patriots. Our defense of principle becomes a defense of hearth and home. |
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- Former Secretary of Education William J. Bennett, The Spirit of America, p.28 |
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Course Overview |
This is a class in American Economic History studying the period immediately following Independence up to the end of the 19th Century. We will explore how early decisions regarding the rules for land and labor usage led to different outcomes after the Civil War for both regions. Things to think about during the course: How does land and labor affect the advancement of industry and technology? What do you think is the force behind economic growth and industrialization in 19th Century America - Is it cheap land, cheap labor, better technology, or something more fundamental? |
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Grading Policy |
There shall be one midterm and one final examination. The final examination shall be administered on the date and time specified in the schedule of classes. Your course grade shall be weighted 35% from the midterm and 45% from the non-cumulative final exam. There shall be no extra credit - period. Six quizzes shall be administered during the semester; three before the midterm and three after. The four best scores amongst the six shall count as 20% towards the final course grade. Class attendance and reading of course material, while not graded, is highly recommended. |
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Readings |
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HC = Hughes and Cain. If there is a second set of HC page numbers in italics, that means the 5th and 6th edition page numbers are different and owners of the black 6th edition should read the italicized page numbers. The first, non-italics, regular typeface page numbers are always correct for the white 5th edition.
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Lecture Schedule |
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| Date | Readings | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| W 09/03 | None | What is Economic History? Ceteris is not Paribus |
| Microeconomic Considerations | ||
| F 09/05 | None | The Sources of 1%, the Rule of 72, The Malthusian Crisis, David's Method |
| M 09/08 | Franklin (all) | Bread, Peace, and Land |
| W 09/10 | HC (85-88) (same) | The Consitutional Compromise |
| F 09/12 | HC (62-64, 88-94) (63-65, 88-94) | Western Land Policy |
| M 09/15 | HC (103-122) | Introduction to Demography, Trends in the 19th Century, the Land-Labor Ratio |
| W 09/17 | None | The Fogel-Rutner Model of Land-Labor Allocation |
| F 09/19 | Primack (all), HC (98-99, 173-174) (same) | What Does it Cost to Build A Farm? |
| Macroeconomic Considerations | ||
| M 09/22 | HC (141-153, 169-170) (same) | The North-Callender Framework, Physical and Financial Transaction Costs |
| W 09/24 | HC (141-153) (same) | Turnpikes, Rivers, Canals, and Breaks in Transportation |
| F 09/26 | HC (235-238) (237-240) | Basic Banking in the 19th Century |
| M 09/29 | HC (235-238) (237-240) | Bills of Exchange |
| W 10/01 | None | Price Volatility in the 19th Century: The Panic of 1837 |
| F 10/03 | None | Capital Asset Pricing, Who Wins From Transportation Improvements? |
| Antebellum Labor Markets | ||
| M 10/06 | Wright (1-42), HC (166-169) (same) | The Debate Over Slavery, Some Preliminary Correlations of Slaves and Farm Acreage |
| W 10/08 | None | Agricultural Imperialism and the British Cotton Textile Industry |
| F 10/10 | None | How to Read a Regression Equation |
| M 10/13 | None | Agricultural Lesson: Crops and Methods |
| W 10/15 | Wright (43-55), HC (170) (same) | The Harvest Labor Constraint, Northern and Southern Solutions |
| F 10/17 | None | Review and Catch-Up Day |
| M 10/20 | None | MIDTERM |
| Slavery, The Civil War, and Reconstruction | ||
| W 10/22 | None | Midterm Review, Plan for Second Half |
| F 10/24 | Wright (55-74) | You Can't Eat Cotton: The Safety First Hypothesis |
| M 10/27 | Wright (74-87) | Economies of Scale, the Corn-Cotton Crop Mix Decision |
| W 10/29 | Wright (89-106) | Price Elasticity of Cotton, Expectations Fuflilled? |
| F 10/31 | Wright (107-127) | Incentives to Mechanize Agriculture, Slavery and Industrialization |
| M 11/03 | Wright (128-157), HC (175-176) (same) | Capital Asset Values in Slavery, Politics of Slaveholding Expectations |
| W 11/05 | Wright (158-164), HC (262-265) (same) | From Laborlords to Landlords: Sharecropping and Rent Tenancy |
| F 11/07 | Ransom and Sutch (all) | Debt Peonage |
| M 11/10 | None | Old South, Old South and The North-South Wage Gap |
| W 11/12 | None | History Matters, Malthus Defeated? |
| The Industrial Transition | ||
| F 11/14 | HC (200-203) (same) | Northeastern Industrialization, The American System of Manufacturing |
| M 11/17 | HC (203-215) | Features of the American System of Manufacturing and an Extension to Textiles |
| W 11/19 | HC (277-280) (279-282), Bils Summary (all) | Rostow's Leading Sectors, Infant Industries |
| F 11/21 | None | Licht's 4 Paths to Industrialization, Harberger's Law |
| M 11/24 | HC (277-280) (279-282) | The Axiom of Indispensability, Asking the Right Question |
| W 11/26 | None | Go Home for Vacation |
| F 11/28 | None | Eat Turkey |
| M 12/01 | None | Fogel's Social Saving, Importance of Knowing Institutional Details |
| The Big Picture | ||
| W 12/03 | None | Kuhn's Paradigms |
| F 12/05 | Rosenberg Notes (all) | Invention vs. Innovation, the Nature of Technological Progress |
| M 12/08 | Landes Summary (all) | What is Good Government? |
| W 12/10 | Landes Summary (all) | Examples of Repressive Governments |
| F 12/12 | None | Review and Evaluations (Last Class) |
| TBA | None | FINAL EXAM - TBA |