Mar 29, 2024  
Academic Catalog 2014-2015 
    
Academic Catalog 2014-2015 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

LASS216 Economic History of the US 3 cr.


This course surveys the economic life of the United States from colonial times to Reconstruction, focusing upon the history of capitalism and slavery in the long nineteenth century. Often opposed to one another, we will explore capitalism and slavery as commensurable, if competitive, modes of economic theory and practice, as we interrogate the interplay of those regional, national, and international economies that shaped the nineteenth century US. Topics addressed will include the relationship between Native Americans and mercantile colonialism, the international movement to abolish slavery and the growth of American industry, the relationship between financial speculation and American geography, the impact of the American Civil War on US currency markets, and the enfranchisement of African Americans and the rise of the corporation.

Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

Lecture/Seminar
All College Elective