Opening the West - Federal Internal Improvements Before 1860

Following Frederick Jackson Turner's lead, most economic historians assume the West and its people were shaped by economic determinism. This study proposes a different path. The federal government, Malone claims, opened the frontier before waves of settlers arrived by constructing a network of roads and making improvements to rivers and harbors. The book begins by analyzing federal transportation expenditures from 1800 to 1860 and then moves on to look at early federal improvement programs and their effects on determining the direction of settlement in the New West.

Settlement in the New West states-Arkansas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota-accelerated after the government's projects were constructed. The tracking of internal improvement expenditures in sparsely settled regions shows the federal government had a significant role in initiating growth prior to the more widely acknowledged railroad developments after mid-century.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Foreword by David O. Whitten
The Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Federal Internal Improvements Expenditures from 1800 to 1860
Federal Internal Improvements and Antebellum American Economic Development
Federal Internal Improvements Expenditures: The Quality of the Evidence
The Unequal Distribution of Antebellum Federal Internal Improvements Expenditures
Four Tests on the Timing of Federal Internal Improvements Expenditures Per Capita from 1800 to 1860
The Consequences of Federal Internal Improvements in the New West Before 1860
Federal Internal Improvements Projects and the Pace and Direction of Settlement in the New West
Federal Internal Improvements Expenditures and Growth in the New West
The Effects of Federal Internal Improvements on Settlement and Growth in Three Counties in the New West
Epilogue
Appendix A
Appendix B
Bibliography
Index

Über den Autor / die Autorin

LAURENCE J. MALONE is Department Chair and Associate Professor of Economics at Hartwick College. He is coeditor, with Robert L. Heilbroner, of The Essential Adam Smith (1986).

Produktdetails

• Autoren: Laurence Malone, Laurence J. Malone
• Verlag: Bloomsbury
• Sprache: Englisch
• Altersempfehlung: 7 bis 17 Jahre
• Produktform: Fester Einband
• Erschienen: 17.07.1998
• EAN: 9780313306716
• ISBN: 978-0-313-30671-6
• Seiten: 176
• Gewicht: 425 g
• Serie: Contributions in Economics and Economic History
• Themen: Sozialwissenschaften, Recht,Wirtschaft > Wirtschaft > Einzelne Wirtschaftszweige, Branchen; USA, Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Human Geography, Economics, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economic History, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Economic Policy, HISTORY / United States / 19th Century, POLITICAL SCIENCE / American Government / National, 19th century, c 1800 to c 1899, Economic history, 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, United States of America, USA, History of the Americas, Central / national / federal government policies, Human Geography, Central government policies