http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/47368672

Slavery and American economic development

"Slavery and American Economic Development is a small book with a big interpretative punch. It is one of those rare books about a familiar subject that manages to seem fresh and new."--Charles B. Dew, Journal of Interdisciplinary History "A stunning reinterpretation of southern economic history and what is perhaps the most important book in the field since Time on the Cross. ... I frequently found myself forced to rethink long-held positions."-Russell R. Menard, Civil War History. Through an analysis of slavery as an economic institution, Gavin Wright presents an innovative look at the economic divergence between North and South in the antebellum era. He draws a distinction between slavery as a form of work organization--the aspect that has dominated historical debates--and slavery as a set of property rights.

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