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A House Dividing

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  • Majewski,John

Abstract

A House Dividing compares Virginia and Pennsylvania to answer a crucial question of American history: how did slavery undermine the development of the southern economy? Extensive archival research reveals that in the first decades of the nineteenth century, local residents in each state financed transportation improvements to raise land values and spur commercial growth. In the 1830s, however, Philadelphia capitalists began financing Pennsylvania's railroad network, eventually building integrated systems that reached deep within the Midwest. Virginia's railroads, still dependent upon local investment and funds from the state government, remained a collection of local lines without western connections. The lack of a great city that could provide capital and traffic for large-scale railroads was the Achilles' heel of Virginia's slave economy. The chains of slavery, Virginians learned to their dismay, also shackled the invisible hand of the market.

Suggested Citation

  • Majewski,John, 2000. "A House Dividing," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521590235, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:cbooks:9780521590235
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Naomi R. Lamoreaux, 2014. "Revisiting American Exceptionalism: Democracy and the Regulation of Corporate Governance in Nineteenth-Century Pennsylvania," NBER Working Papers 20231, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Klein, Daniel & Majewski, John, 2003. "America’s Toll Roads Heritage: The Achievements of Private Initiative in the 19th Century," Ratio Working Papers 30, The Ratio Institute.
    3. Robert E. Wright, 2010. "Rise of the Corporation Nation," NBER Chapters, in: Founding Choices: American Economic Policy in the 1790s, pages 217-258, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Sun Go & Peter H. Lindert, 2007. "The Curious Dawn of American Public Schools," NBER Working Papers 13335, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Howard Bodenhorn & David Cuberes, 2010. "Financial Development and City Growth: Evidence from Northeastern American Cities, 1790-1870," NBER Working Papers 15997, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Dan Bogart & John Majewski, 2008. "Two Roads to the Transportation Revolution: Early Corporations in the United Kingdom and the United States," NBER Chapters, in: Understanding Long-Run Economic Growth: Geography, Institutions, and the Knowledge Economy, pages 177-204, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. David Koistinen, 2012. "Development credit corporations: Not-for-profit development finance institutions in the postwar United States," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(3), pages 424-440, June.
    8. Robert Wright, 2002. "Reforming the US IPO market: lessons from history and theory," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(3), pages 419-437.
    9. John Joseph Wallis, 2010. "The Other Foundings: Federalism and the Constitutional Structure of American Government," NBER Chapters, in: Founding Choices: American Economic Policy in the 1790s, pages 177-213, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Stanley Engerman & Kenneth L. Sokoloff, 2004. "Digging the Dirt at Public Expense: Governance in the Building of the Erie Canal and Other Public Works," NBER Working Papers 10965, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Sukkoo Kim, 2007. "Institutions and U.S. Regional Development: A Study of Massachusetts and Virginia," NBER Working Papers 13431, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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