Taylor, A. Economic History of the United States
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Winter 1994
Alan M. Taylor
Economics C-23
ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES
Time: TTh 1:00-2:30, Fisk 201
Office Hours: T 3:00-5:00, Kresge 327A
Office Address: 820 Davis Street #222-1
Phone: 491-8234
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The evolution of the American economy since independence. Preamble-the
Colonial economy; the National Period; westward expansion; national
economic integration; early industrialization; economic causes and
consequences of the Civil War; the economics of slavery; the postbellum
period; mature industrial development; urbanization; international
integration; the rise of big business; the interwar period; the Great
Depression; the recovery and the New Deal; the postwar boom since 1945; the
current position of the American economy in an international and historical
perspective.
Prerequisites: Economics B01 and B02.
TEACHING METHOD: Two lectures per week.
EVALUATION: Three in-class exams, a take-home final project and an optional
term paper on a topic chosen in consultation with the instructor.
READING: The following texts plus additional readings--
Hughes, J. R. T., and L. P. Cain. American Economic History. 4th ed.
McCloskey, D. N., ed. Second Thoughts: Myths and Morals of U.S.
Economic History.
The Norris Bookstore and the Campus Used Bookstore have been notified that
these books have assigned. Many of the books on the reading list are on
reserve at the library, but not the journal articles (the library imposes a
20 item limit on reserve requests). There are at least two reading
strategies you could pursue. For example: option 1, use the library to
access textbooks, book sections and journal articles (this option is
costless but may miss a few photocopied items); option 2, purchase
textbooks and the reading packet produced and sold by the department (this
option is costly but offers complete coverage). You may decide on a
combination of these strategies, or you may decide to pool the costs by
sharing textbooks and/or reading packets with others. It's up to you.
TEACHING ASSISTANT: Cheng Wang, 820 Davis Street #525, 733-2074. Office
hours and section: F 1:00-2:00, Harris 204.
Aims of the course
This course is intended for upper level undergraduates with a strong
background in economics. Economics B01/B02 is a prerequisite, but more is
better. In particular, a familiarity with some basic concepts of
international trade and finance will be useful. The course aims to provide
an overview of the evolution of the American economy since independence.
Colonial economic history forms the starting point for this course, and a
brief survey provides a starting point. We then examine the National Period
of westward expansion, national economic integration and early
industrialization. The economic causes and consequences of the Civil War
are studied, including the economics of slavery. The postbellum period
requires the study of mature industrial development, urbanization,
international integration and the rise of big business. In the interwar
period we study the Great Depression, its origins and impact, the recovery
and the New Deal. We end with a look at the postwar boom since 1945 and the
current position of the American economy in an international and historical
perspective.
Rules of the Game
Readings
Readings marked * should be read prior to the lecture to facilitate a
lively and productive discussion. Indeed, you may be asked to summarize
said readings in class. The reading list is long, and you are not expected
to read every part of every single element. However, reading broadly is
desirable. Fair warning of likely exam topics will be given (see below), so
you have no excuse for missing key readings. BOTTOM LINE: Learn to skim
readings for their pertinent findings (examine introductions and
conclusions for pointers to the discussion) and significant empirical
contributions (examine tables and figures) until you know what argument is
being made.
Study Groups
You are encouraged to use a study group, meeting once a week to discuss
issues raised by the class. The study group will be very useful at exam
time (see below).
Grading
Each component of written work will count towards your grade. The weights
are: three in-class exams 25% each, take-home project (or optional paper)
25%.
Exams
Lecture 6 is the first in-class exam and covers material in Lectures
1-5. Lecture 12 is the second in-class exam and covers material in Lectures
7-11. Lecture 18 is the third in-class exam and covers material in Lectures
13-17. A long list of possible exam questions will be distributed before
each exam. You should use the study group to organize a division of labor,
prepare answers and discuss as a group the answers you devise. On the exam,
selected questions from the long list will appear, and you will have some
choice among these questions.
Take-home Project
This will be a written exercise covering material in the whole course. It
will be distributed at the end of the last class, March 3, and will be due
March 4-14
Paper
A paper is optional for students maintaining a B+ or better average on the
first two in-class exams, and substitutes for the take-home project. As
regards layout, the main text should be 10-12 pages in length, set in 12
point and double spaced with standard margins (one inch), with notes and
bibliography using proper annotation and attribution. Consult a style
manual if necessary (say, The Chicago Style Manual). A major element will
be finding a suitable topic. You may consult with the instructor. The paper
must not only review the existing literature; as a work in applied
economics it should use quantitative reasoning to examine a narrow,
well-defined question. Do not tackle too broad an issue. If you have
familiarity with statistical methods then you may pursue an empirical topic
using these skills.
* To ensure that you are making progress towards finding a paper
topic, a one-page proposal summarizing your topic is due by
February 17 (Lecture 14) at the latest. The summary is required and
indicates your intent to write the optional paper (if eligible) and not
to do the take-home project.
* Completed papers are due anytime you like March 4-14 in the
instructor's mailbox at 820 Davis Street.
Alan M. Taylor
Economics C-23
ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES
Winter 1994
Schedule
1 January 4 The Colonial period
2 January 6 The Colonial period
3 January 11 The antebellum period
4 January 13 The antebellum period
5 January 18 The antebellum period
6 January 20 First in-class exam
7 January 25 Slavery and the Civil War
8 January 27 The postbellum period
9 February 1 The postbellum period
10 February 3 The postbellum period
11 February 8 The postbellum period
12 February 10 Second in-class exam
13 February 15 The interwar period
14 February 17 The interwar period
One-page paper proposal due
15 February 22 The interwar period
16 February 24 The postwar period
17 March 1 The postwar period
18 March 3 Third in-class exam
Take-home project distributed
March 4-14 Optional paper due or Take-home project due
Deposit in instructor's mailbox, Department of Economics,
820 Davis Street, Room 505.
March 21 Grades to the registrar for distribution
Alan M. Taylor
Economics C-23
ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES
Winter 1994
Syllabus
Textbooks The following textbooks will be used, abbreviated as given:
HC Hughes, J. R. T., and L. P. Cain. American Economic History. 4th ed.
New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
MC McCloskey, D. N., ed. Second Thoughts: Myths and Morals of U.S.
Economic History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
The former offers a complete survey of American economic history since
Colonial times, providing the chronological backbone for the course. The
latter offers pithy and provocative interpretations by economic historians
on major topics. Selected readings augment the texts to provide a
reasonable treatment of such a broad subject.
Readings
You should do all the assigned reading for the course, and
readings marked * should be read prior to the lecture to facilitate a
lively and productive discussion. Indeed, you may be asked to summarize
said readings in class.
Introductory reading
McCloskey, D. N. "Does the Past Have Useful Economics?" Journal of Economic
Literature 38 (March 1976).
Parker, W. N. "American Civilization: The Impulse from Europe." In Europe,
America and the Wider World, vol. 2. 2 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1991.
Lee, S., and P. Passell. "Introduction." In A New Economic View of American
History. New York: W. W. Norton, 1979.
1 January 4 The Colonial period
HC, Chs. 1 and 2.
Lee, S., and P. Passell. "The Colonial Economy." In A New Economic View of
American History. New York: W. W. Norton, 1979.
Galenson, D. W. "Labor Market Behavior in Colonial America: Servitude,
Slavery, and Free Labor." In Markets in History, edited by D. W. Galenson.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
2 January 6 The Colonial period
*HC, Chs. 3 and 4.
Lee, S., and P. Passell. "Mercantilism and The American Revolution." In A
New Economic View of American History. New York: W. W. Norton, 1979.
MC, Ch. 3. (Davis, L. E., and R. A. Huttenback, "Do Imperial Powers Get
Rich Off Their Colonies?")
3 January 11 The antebellum period
*HC, Chs. 5 and 6.
Lee, S., and P. Passell. "Westward Expansion and the Transport Revoltuion."
In A New Economic View of American History. New York: W. W. Norton, 1979.
North, D. C. "Interregional Flows, 1815-1860." In The Economic Growth of
the United States. New York: W. W. Norton, 1966.
MC, Ch. 14. ("Are Government Giveaways Really Free?")
4 January 13 The antebellum period
*HC, Chs. 7, 8 and 9.
Lee, S., and P. Passell. "Industrial Change Before The Civil War." In A New
Economic View of American History. New York: W. W. Norton, 1979.
Goldin, C. D., and K. Sokoloff. "Women, Children and Industrialization in
the Early Republic: Evidence from the Manufacturing Censuses." Journal of
Economic History 42 (December 1982): 741-74.
Field, A. J. "Sectoral Shift in Antebellum Massachusetts: A
Reconsideration." Explorations in Economic History 15 (April 1978): 146-71.
Atack, J., F. Bateman, and T. J. Weiss. "The Regional Diffusion and
Adoption of the Steam Engine." Journal of Economic History 40 (June 1980):
281-308.
Fogel, R. W. "Notes on the Social Saving Controversy." Journal of Economic
History 39 (March 1979): 1-54.
Lee, S., and P. Passell. A New Economic View of American History. New York:
W. W. Norton, 1979. 274-291. ("The Role of the Railroads" )
MC, Ch. 7 and 19. (Hoffman, E., "How Can Displaced Workers Find Better
Jobs?" and Walton, G. M., "Fulton's Folly.")
5 January 18 The antebellum period
*HC, Chs. 10 and 11.
Lee, S., and P. Passell. "Northern Agricultural Expansion Before the Civil
War." In A New Economic View of American History. New York: W. W. Norton,
1979.
Olmstead, A. L. "The Mechanization of Reaping and Mowing in American
Agriculture, 1833-1870." Journal of Economic History 35 (June 1975):
327-52.
Lee, S., and P. Passell. "Banks and Money Before the Civil War." In A New
Economic View of American History. New York: W. W. Norton, 1979.
MC, Chs. 16. (Sylla, R., "Should We Regulate the Banks?)
6 January 20 First in-class exam
7 January 25 Slavery and the Civil War
*HC, Ch. 12.
Fogel, R. W., and S. L. Engerman. Time on the Cross: The Economics of
American Negro Slavery. Boston: Little, Brown, 1974. Chs. 1, 4, 6 and
Epilogue.
Ransom, R. L., and R. Sutch. One Kind of Freedom: The Economic Consequences
of Emancipation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977. Chs. 2 and 3.
8 January 27 The postbellum period
*HC, Chs. 13 and 14.
Lee, S., and P. Passell. "The Economic Impact of The Civil War." In A New
Economic View of American History. New York: W. W. Norton, 1979.
Ransom, R. L., and R. Sutch. One Kind of Freedom: The Economic Consequences
of Emancipation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977. Chs. 1, 5, 8
and 9.
Lee, S., and P. Passell. A New Economic View of American History. New York:
W. W. Norton, 1979. 309-329. ("Post-Civil War Land Policy.")
9 February 1 The postbellum period
*HC, Chs. 15 and 16.
Lee, S., and P. Passell. A New Economic View of American History. New York:
W. W. Norton, 1979. 292-301. ("The Puzzle of Farm Discontent")
Higgs, R. "The Ups and Downs of the Farmer." In The Transformation of the
American Economy, 1865-1914. New York: Wiley, 1971.
Williamson, J. G. "Migration to the New World: Long Term Influences and
Impact." Explorations in Economic History 11 (Summer 1974): 357-89.
MC, Ch. 2. (Simon, J. L., and Simon, R. J., "Do We Really Need All These
Immigrants?")
Goldin, C. D. "The Political Economy of Immigration Restriction in the
United States, 1890-1921." Harvard University, February 1993. Photocopy.
10 February 3 The postbellum period
*HC, Chs. 17 and 18.
Wright, G. "The Origins of American Industrial Success, 1879-1940."
American Economic Review 80 (September 1990): 651-68.
Clark, G. "Why Isn't the Whole World Developed? Lessons from the Cotton
Mills." Journal of Economic History 47 (March 1987): 141-73.
Lamoreaux, N. R. "Product Differentiation, Mass Production, and the Urge to
Merge." In The Great Merger Movement in American Business, 1895-1904.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
MC, Ch. 15. (Hughes, J. R. T. "Do Americans Want Big Government?")
11 February 8 The postbellum period
*HC, Chs. 19, 20 and 21.
Rockoff, H. "The Wizard of Oz as a Monetary Allegory." Journal of Political
Economy 98 (August 1990): 739-60.
Davis, L. E. American Economic Growth: An Economist's History of the United
States. New York: Harper and Row, 1972. Chs. 8 and 9. ("Capital and Growth"
and "Savings Sources and Utilization.")
Edelstein, M. "Accumulation in the United States and its Pull on U.K.
Savings." In Overseas Investment in the Age of High Imperialism. New York:
Columbia University Press, 1982.
MC, Ch. 11. (Thomas, M., "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Trade Deficit?")
Hannon, J. U. "Ethnic Discrimination in a 19th-Century Mining District:
Michigan Copper Mines, 1888." Explorations in Economic History 19 (January
1982): 28-50.
MC, Ch. 5. (Fishback, P. V., "Does Workers' Compensation Make for a Safer
Workplace?")
12 February 10 Second midterm exam
13 February 15 The interwar period
*HC, Chs. 23 and 24.
Temin, P. Lessons from The Great Depression. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press,
1989. Ch. 1.
MC, Ch. 13. (Baack, B., and Ray, E., "The Income Tax: An Idea Whose Time
Has Gone and Come?")
14 February 17 The interwar period
*HC, Ch. 25.
Temin, P. Lessons from The Great Depression. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press,
1989. Ch. 2.
Eichengreen, B. Golden Fetters. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. Chs.
1, 8 and 9.
MC, Ch. 10. (Eichengreen, B., "As Good as Gold-By What Standard?")
15 February 22 The interwar period
*HC, Ch. 27.
Temin, P. Lessons from The Great Depression. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press,
1989. Ch. 3.
Romer, C. D. "What Ended the Great Depression?" Journal of Economic History
52 (December 1992): 757-84.
Eichengreen, B., and J. D. Sachs. "Exchange Rates and Economic Recovery in
the 1930s." Journal of Economic History 45 (December 1985): 925-46.
MC, Ch. 12. (Wallis, J., "The Great Depression: Can It Happen Again?")
16 February 24 The postwar period
*HC, Chs. 28 and 29.
Goldin, C. D. Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American
Women. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
MC, Chs. 8 and 9. (Margo, R. A., "What is the Key to Black Progress?" and
Rotella, E. J., "The Equal Rights Amendment-Yes, But Whose?")
17 March 1 The postwar period
*HC, Chs. 30, 31 and 32.
Nelson, R. R., and G. Wright. "The Rise and Fall of American Technological
Leadership." Journal of Economic Literature 30 (December 1992): 1931-64.
Krugman, P. R. The Age of Diminished Expectations: U.S. Economic Policy in
the 1990s. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1990. 1-32, 169-95.
MC, Ch. 23. (McCloskey, D. N., "Competitiveness and the Antieconomics of
Decline.")