Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
Clearly written, this book will appeal to academics interested in the historical relationship between public and private investment in promoting economic development in 19th century America.Social and Behavioral Sciences
Review
Malone does not do a convincing job of demonstrating that the federal government played an important role in making basic road investments in the territorial perids in each state.EH.NET BOOK REVIEW
Review
Malone's work is full of intense statistical work presented in an interesting wayJOW
Review
The inventive argument and impressive evidence shed new light on the settlement of the West before the Civil War.Robert L. Heilbroner Norman Thomas Professor of Economics Emeritus New School for Social Research
Synopsis
In contrast to Frederick Jackson Turner's thesis, Malone claims the federal government opened the frontier to settlers by constructing roads and improving river transportation before they arrived.
Synopsis
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.
About the Author
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).
Table of Contents
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