Wages of Independence: Capitalism in the Early American Republic / Edition 1

by Paul A. Gilje, Jeanne Boydston, Christopher Clark, Douglas R. Egerton, Cathy D. Matson

Overview

America between the Revolution and the Civil War was a society in full adolescence. Vibrant, cocky, feeling its own strength, and ready to take on the world, America was driven by an upstart economy and a capitalist bravado. The early republic, argues Paul Gilje in his cogent introduction, was the crucial period in the development of that trademark characteristic of American society—modern capitalism.

In this collection of essays, eight social and economic historians consider the rise of capitalism in the early American republic. Expanding upon traditional interpretations of economic development—encouraged and controlled by merchants and financiers—these essays demonstrate the centrality of common men and women as artisans, laborers, planters and farmers in the dramatic transitions of the period. They show how changes in the workshop, home, and farm were as crucial as those in banks and counting houses. Capping these fundamental changes was the rise of consumerism among Americans and the development of a "mentality of capitalism" that ensured the success of this new economic system—with all its benefits and costs.

Contributing authors include Paul A. Gilje, Jeanne Boydston, Christopher Clark, Douglas R. Egerton, Cathy D. Matson, Jonathan Prude, Richard Stott, and Gordon S. Wood.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780945612520
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	06/01/1997
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.56(w) x 8.57(h) x 0.52(d)

About the Author

Paul A. Gilje is Professor of History at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. He is the author of The Road to Mobocracy: Popular Disorder in New York City, 1763-1834 and Rioting in America.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Rise of Capitalism in the Early Republic Chapter 2 The Woman Who Wasn't There: Women's Market Labor and the Transition to Capitalism in the United States Chapter 3 Markets Without a Market Revolution: Southern Planters and Capitalism Chapter 4 Rural America and the Transition to Capitalism Chapter 5 Capitalism, Industrialization, and the Factory in Post-revolutionary America Chapter 6 Artisans and Capitalist Development Chapter 7 Capitalizing Hope: Economic Thought and the Early National Economy Chapter 8 The Enemy is Us: Democratic Capitalism in the Early Republic Chapter 9 Contributors Chapter 10 Index

Editorial Reviews

A useful survey, a valuable synthesis, a set of provocative arguments about work, and a fresh debate over models of American economic development—even the most demanding reader could not ask for more.

H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online - James A. Henretta

A useful survey, a valuable synthesis, a set of provocative arguments about work, and a fresh debate over models of American economic development—even the most demanding reader could not ask for more.
— James A. Henretta

H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online