Topics in the Economic History of the U.S.

ECON 316 TOPICS IN THE ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE U.S. Farley Grubb

Spring Semester
831-1905

Last Updated: 7/99
grubbf@be.udel.edu

 COURSE OUTLINE

Textbook: Jeremy Atack and Peter Passell, A New Economic View of American History (New York: W.W. Norton, 1994, 2nd edn.).

Course Progression:

I. 19th Century Westward Expansion: Migrants, Cattle, and the Iron Horse

A. Selected Topics:

i) The End of European Immigrant Servitude in the U.S.

ii) The Westward Migration of Farmers

iii) The Direct Impact of the Railroad on Economic Growth and Western Expansion

iv) The Economics of the End of the Chisholm Trail

B. Readings: Atack and Passell, Introduction; pp. 40-51; and Chapters 6, 8, 9, 10, 15, & 16.

C. Additional Materials Presented:

Farley Grubb, "Redemptioner Immigration to Pennsylvania: Evidence on Contract Choice and Profitability," Journal of Economic History, 46 (Jun. 1986), pp. 407‑418.

Farley Grubb, "The End of European Immigrant Servitude in the United States: An Economic Analysis of Market Collapse, 1772-1835," Journal of Economic History, 54 (Dec. 1994), pp. 794-824.

Farley Grubb, "The Disappearance of Organized Markets for European Immigrant Servants in the United States: Five Popular Explanations Reexamined," Social Science History, 18 (Spr. 1994), pp. 1-30.

Richard Steckel, "The Economic Foundations of East-West Migration During the 19th Century," Explorations in Economic History, 20 (Jan. 1983), pp. 14-35.

Robert W. Fogel, Railroad and American Economic Growth (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1964).

Robert W. Fogel, "Notes on the Social Savings Controversy," Journal of Economic History, 39 (Mar. 1979), pp. 1-54.

David Galenson, "The End of the Chisholm Trail," Journal of Economic History, 34 (Jun. 1974), pp. 350‑64.

II. The Economics of Slavery, the Civil War, and the Post-War Southern Collapse

A. Selected Topics:

i) Some Economics of Slavery: Profitability, Efficiency, and Long-run Viability

ii) Some Economics of the Civil War

iii) The Post-War Southern Economic Collapse

B. Readings: Atack and Passell, Chapters 11, 12, 13, & 14.

C. Additional Materials Presented:

Robert W. Fogel, Without Consent or Contract (New York: W. W. Norton, 1989), pp. 17-153.

Stanley Lebergott, "Why the South Lost: Commercial Purpose in the Confederacy, 1861-1865," Journal of American History, 70 (June 1983), pp. 58-74.

Roger L. Ransom and Richard Sutch, One Kind of Freedom (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1977), pp. 40-105, 126-170.

III. Industrial Development and the Expansion of Firm Size

A. Selected Topics:

i) Coal and the Adoption of Stationary Steam Power

ii) The Expansion of Firm Size at the End of the 19th Century: Testing the Chandler Thesis

B. Readings: Atack and Passell, Chapters 5, 7, 17, & 19.

C. Additional Materials Presented:

Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., "Anthracite Coal and the Beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the United States," Business History Review, 46 (Summer, 1972), pp. 141‑81.

Jeremy Atack, Fred Bateman, Tom Weiss, "The Regional Diffusion and Adoption of the Steam Engine in American Manufacturing," Journal of Economic History, 40 (June 1980), pp. 281-308.

Jeremy Atack, "Industrial Structure and the Emergence of the Modern Industrial Corporation," Explorations in Economic History, 22 (Jan. 1985), pp. 29‑51.

IV. Money, Banking, and Business Cycles in the 19th Century

A. Selected Topics:

i) Second Bank of the U.S. and the Business Cycle from 1833-1843

ii) Banking Structure and Market Integration in the Late 19th Century

B. Readings: Atack and Passell, Chapters 4 & 18.

C. Additional Materials Presented:

Peter Temin, The Jacksonian Economy (New York: W. W. Norton, 1969).

Richard Sylla, "Federal Policy, Banking Market Structure and Capital Mobilization in the United States, 1863-1913," Journal of Economic History, 29 (Dec. 1969), pp. 657-686.

 Course Requirements

Two 1-hour midterm exams in class and one 2-hour final exam, each worth 1/3 of the course grade.

 Exam Format, Coverage, and Grading

Each exam will consist of multiple choice and short essay questions, with the total points of the 3 exams equally divided between the two types of questions. The multiple choice questions will concentrate on the assigned readings in the Atack and Passell text, much of which will not be directly covered in class. All lecture material is considered fair game for both essay questions and multiple choice questions. The essay questions will cover only material presented in lecture. The essay questions will be graded on your ability to explain in detail the economic reasoning, including economic models, with regards to the behavior asked in the question, and on your use of evidence to support your explanation. Secondary emphasis will be placed on the completeness of your answer. All exams are non-comprehensive, i.e. each exam, including the final, will only cover the material presented after the previous exam.

Each exam will have three essay questions worth 9 points each, and 23 multiple choice questions worth one point each. The lowest two essay scores across the three exams (2 out of the 9 essays) will be thrown out, and 2 incorrectly answered multiple choice questions per exam will be thrown out. Therefore, the highest point total possible in the course is 126; or 63 points on essays (9 points * 7 essays across 3 exams) and 63 points on multiple choice questions (21 points * 3 exams). The evaluation of exam scores and the assignment of course grades will be relative to the performance of your classmates.