Economic History Commons^™

Spanish California Missions: An Economic Success, Lynne Doti

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

Starting in 1769, the Spanish established missions in Alta California. A small band of soldiers, Franciscan priests and volunteers walked from Baja California to San Francisco Bay through semi-arid, scarcely populated land stopping occasionally to establish a location for a religious community. Usually two priests, a few soldiers and a few Indians from Baja California settled at the spot. Their only resources for starting an economy were themselves, a few animals and a nearby source of water. They attracted the local Indians to join the community and perform the work necessary to create a strong economy. After only a few …

Review Of Reading The Market: Genres Of Financial Capitalism In Gilded Age America, Lynne P. Doti

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

A review of Peter Knight's Reading the Market: Genres of Financial Capitalism in Gilded Age America.

Zona Libre: Conservatism, Urban Growth, And The Rise Of The New Economy In The San Diego Borderlands, Daniel Elkin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Both the rise of conservatism as well as the neoliberal turn of the twentieth century have received much scholarly attention in recent decades. Often, these two subjects are examined separately, with the former focusing on questions of party realignment in the United States and the latter on global economic shifts toward privatization, finance, and the segregation of labor types across international boundaries. As a result, efforts to trace the dual movement between questions of domestic politics and international economy are left underdeveloped. “Zona Libre: Conservatism, Urban Growth, and the Rise of the New Economy” remedies this gap by exploring the …

The Purloined Letters: A Collection Of Mail Robbery Reports From Ohio Papers, 1841-1850, Marc Cibella

Nineteenth-Century Ohio Literature

Marc Cibella’s essay introduces and explains why nineteenth-century Americans got excited about newspaper reports of mail robbery.

The Symbolic U.S. Dollar: An Exploration Of Transforming Meanings, Dylann Ward

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The currency used in the United States (U.S.) is called the dollar. Repeatedly individuals holding lawful positions, within the U.S. government, have used their legal power to change the meanings attached to the U.S. dollar. This study was able to show how a U.S. dollar transforming event can be understood as action taken on the part of individuals holding lawful positions, within the U.S. government, to fundamentally change the meaning attached to the U.S. dollar in efforts to either maintain or elevate the position of the U.S. relative to other countries within the international field. Such was the case in …

The Real Winner Of The Second World War: Patriotic Consumption And The Formation Of A Society Of Spin, Jordan T. Thomas

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The unique circumstances in the United States during the Second World War allowed for business to continue as usual on the home front. Advertisers, public relations experts, and big business all worked for the government to promote the war effort. For a period of time major companies in the United States were producing advertisements that persuaded citizens to support rationing, buy war bonds, hate the enemy, and keep their brand names in mind in the post-war years. Companies who supported the war effort had their brands connected with ideas of patriotism and enjoyed the success of brand loyal consumers in …

Your Thoughts Projected: Television Comedies, Economic Content, And American Economic Attitudes, 1949-1990, Cody J. Lolos

All Master's Theses

This study analyzes the relationship between American television audiences and television comedies in the latter half of the twentieth century. The driving questions are how did television comedies depict economic content and how was that content related to American audiences' economic perceptions? By analyzing eight television comedy programs, this study asserts that not only did television comedies contain a substantial amount of economic content, including consumption, thrift, employment, and other significant and relevant economic factors, but the economic content found in television comedies accurately reflected Americans' economic attitudes over time. As a result, television comedies' economic content further correlated with …

Dorothy Moser Medlin Papers - Accession 1049, Dorothy Moser Medlin

Manuscript Collection

(The Dorothy Moser Medlin Papers are currently in processing.)

This collection contains most of the records of Dorothy Medlin’s work and correspondence and also includes reference materials, notes, microfilm, photographic negatives related both to her professional and personal life. Additions include a FLES Handbook, co-authored by Dorothy Medlin and a decorative mirror belonging to Dorothy Medlin.

Major series in this collection include: some original 18th century writings and ephemera and primary source material of André Morellet, extensive collection of secondary material on André Morellet's writings and translations, Winthrop related files, literary manuscripts and notes by Dorothy Medlin (1966-2011), copies …

The Geopolitics Of Rare Earth Elements: Emerging Challenge For U.S. National Security And Economics, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Rare earth elements (REE) contain unique chemical and physical properties such as lanthanum, are found in small concentrations, need extensive precise processes to separate, and are critical components of modern technologies such as laser guidance systems, personal electronics such as IPhones, satellites, and military weapons systems as varied as Virginia-class fast attack submarines, DDG- 51 Aegis destroyers, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and precision guided munitions. The U.S. has some rare earth resources, but is heavily dependent on access to them from countries as varied as Afghanistan, Bolivia, and China. Losing access to these resources would have significant adverse economic, …

The Bracero Program In The Arkansas Delta: The Power Held By Planter Elite, William Chase Whittington

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the Bracero Program and its implementation from the start of World War II to the end of the program in 1964. Farmers and planters in America needed a sufficient labor supply once the war started, and Mexico became the main supplier. The Bracero Program was initiated as a war effort and meant to only last until the end of the war, but the planter elite had far different intentions once they realized how productive and inexpensive the program could be. This paper identifies the leading causes for how the Bracero Program was able to last over twenty …

Eartha M. M. White Collection Container List, Thomas G. Carpenter Library Special Collections And University Archives

Finding Aids and Container Lists

Personal correspondence, documents, notes, memorabilia, printed materials and photographs. Notable materials include numerous photographs chronicling twentieth century black history in Jacksonville and historical photographs of urban Jacksonville. Included in the collection are the photographs of R. Lee Thomas, a black photographer active in the early twentieth century in the southern United States. Thomas' work covers primarily southern black religious and labor groups, circa 1946-49.

Caught In The Headlights: Revising The Road Kill Hypothesis Of Antebellum Illinois Bank Failures, Scott N. Clayman, Scott Deacle, Andrew J. Economopoulos

Business and Economics Faculty Publications

Illinois had a dismal free banking experience, with over 80% of its free banks failing by the start of the Civil War. Researchers agree that a dramatic change in bond prices was the catalyst, and some have shown that the riskiest banks, ex ante, were the most likely to fail. This study examines how Illinois free banks adjusted their portfolios in the face of increased political and financial risks prior to Abraham Lincoln’s election as president. Lincoln’s nomination in May 1860 and the Democratic Party schism in June 1860 raised the likelihood of secession and the potential for a significant …

Broken Glass: The Decline Of Corporate Paternalism And Welfare Capitalism, A Critical Analysis Of One Company’S Systematic Socio-Economic Metamorphosis, Doug Bruno

Conspectus Borealis

No abstract provided.

From Hard Money To Branch Banking California Banking In The Gold Rush Economy, Larry Schweikart, Lynne Pierson Doti

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

In Gold Rush–era California, banking and the financial sector evolved in often distinctive ways because of the Gold Rush economy. More importantly, the abundance of gold on the West Coast provided an interesting test case for some of the critical economic arguments of the day, especially for those deriving from the descending—but still powerful—positions of the “hard money” Jacksonians.

Transportation And Sanitation Drivers Of Land Use/Land Cover Change: Loss Of The Jamaica Bay Wetlands, Margaret Joy Cytryn

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an analysis (1830-2014) of the historical events of land use/land cover change in the Jamaica Bay estuary, identification of the agents of change, and a perspective on the potential drivers of transportation and sanitation in land use/land cover change.

Review Of Developing Quantitative Literacy Skills In History And The Social Sciences: A Web-Based Common Core Approach By Kathleen W. Craver, Victor J. Ricchezza, H L. Vacher

Numeracy

Kathleen W. Craver. Developing Quantitative Literacy Skills in History and Social Sciences: A Web-Based Common Core Standards Approach (Lantham MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., 2014). 191 pp.
ISBN 978-1-4758-1050-9 (cloth); ISBN …-1051-6 (pbk); ISBN…-1052-3 (electronic).

This book could be a breakthrough for teachers in the trenches who are interested in or need to know about quantitative literacy (QL). It is a resource providing 85 topical pieces, averaging 1.5 pages, in which a featured Web site is presented, described, and accompanied by 2-4 critical-thinking questions purposefully drawing on data from the Web site. The featured Web sites range from …

Did Antebellum Illinois Free Banks Take Undue Risk With Their Bond Portfolios?: An Analysis Of Decision-Making Prior To The Civil War, Scott N. Clayman

Business and Economics Honors Papers

Free banks in Illinois could issue bank notes backed by state or U.S. bond collateral. A decline in bond prices as the Civil War approached resulted in banks being unable to redeem their noteholders in gold specie and subsequently resulted in bank failures. Previously economic historians believed that failures of free banks were due to wildcat banking rather than the portfolio allocation of free banks. Over time, other researchers have found that banks that took greater ex ante risk prior to the failure were more likely to fail. There were other price declines during the 1850s, in particular the Panic …

The Birth Of The U.S. Federal Reserve, Richard A. Naclerio

History Faculty Publications

On November 16, 2014 the United States Federal Reserve celebrated the centennial of its organization. Its one hundred year legacy has left no doubt of its vast monetary control, its far-reaching geopolitical power, and its enigmatic secrecy. These defining features of the Fed remain a mirror of the men who created it. Wall Street barons and ambitious politicians vied for control over shaping the U.S. Federal Reserve to the specifications that suited the needs of both their country and themselves.

This paper covers men like Senator Nelson Aldrich, J.P. Morgan, Jacob Schiff, and Paul M. Warburg, who were the undeniable …

The Political Economy Of Environmental Justice: A Comparative Study Of New Delhi And Los Angeles, Ratik Asokan

CMC Senior Theses

Though mainstream environmentalism, both in the U.S. and India, was initially rooted in social justice, it has, over time, moved away from this focus. The Environmental Justice Movement consequently arose to reunite social and environmental activism. In this thesis, I trace the historical relationship between the mainstream environmentalism, the Environmental Justice Movement, and marginalized communities. After providing this general overview, I examine two case studies – in Los Angeles and New Delhi respectively – where marginalized communities have been involved in Environmental Justice activities. My analysis reveals that marginalized communities often act in an ‘environmentalist’ or ‘environmentally friendly’ manner, without …

Digitally Mapping The Growth Of The Railroads In The United States, Michael Weaver

Yale Day of Data

As part of my dissertation, I creating digital maps of the extent of the railways in the United States during the late 19th century (1880 to 1910) on a yearly basis. While other researchers have created digital maps of the railways in approximately 10-year intervals, this misses out on the rapid change in the railways in the interim. These previous digitization attempts have relied on using detailed maps created of the railways at a given time. But accurate maps were not made on a yearly basis and only exist for roughly every 10 years. However, during the 19th century, people …

Petition Of Prisoners In Worcester Jail To Extend The Prison Yard, September 8, 1784., Elijah Isaacson, George Shayer, Jacob Ellison, Henry Chase, Jonathan Willington, Daniel Novell, Asa Danforth, Matthew Knight

Broadus R. Littlejohn, Jr. Manuscript and Ephemera Collection

The prisoners ask that the prison yard at Worcester jail be extended to accomodate the increasing number of prisoners.

Trade, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a historical overview of analysis of U.S. foreign trade policy during the early decades of the country's history. Examines bilateral U.S. trade relations with France and Great Britain, provides import and export statistics, details on commodities and products imports and exported, trade statistics, and information on the political and economic factors shaping U.S. trade during this period.

Revenue, U.S. Government, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a historical overview of U.S. Government revenue receipts and spending during the early years of national history. Presents revenue generation statistics, information on revenue sources, and information on domestic and international political and economic factors affecting government revenue receipts.

New York Stock Exchange, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a historical overview of the origins and early development of the New York Stock Exchange.

Swedish Immigration: Why They Came To Minnesota, Emma Erickson

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

The World Of Goods In Pre-Revolutionary Virginia, Ronald C. Merritt Jr.

History Theses & Dissertations

This paper will study the effects that the expansion of consumerism and nonimportation had in the colony of Virginia. It will analyze the validity of the arguments made by T. H. Breen's The Marketplace of Revolution. Breen's first contention was that a world of goods had been formed in the American colonies and that this consumer culture helped unite the colonists. This second contention was that the non-importation and non-consumption associations were successful in unifying the colonies and quelling opposition to the Continental cause.

Evidence of the growth of consumerism in mid-eighteenth century America will be analyzed and a …

For Right And Might: The Militarization Of The Cold War And The Remaking Of American Democracy, Michael Brenes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines how Cold War defense spending shaped the evolution of American political culture and public policy from the 1940s until the 1990s. It argues that the Cold War economy contributed to the realignment of American politics in the postwar era. The fight against global communism abroad altered the structure, purpose, and public perception of the federal government following World War II, but also subsidized corporations, suburban communities, and individuals affected by defense spending. The militarization of the Cold War therefore created various dependents of America's military and defense apparatus that continuously pressed for more defense spending during the …

Germs, Pigs And Silver: King Philip's War And The Deconstruction Of The Middle Ground In New England, Benjamin M. Roine

Graduate Masters Theses

Early in the seventeenth century Algonquians peoples of southern New England and English colonists built a middle ground which benefitted both groups. Trade, the existence of competition from Dutch and French colonies and powerful Algonquian tribes maintained this middle ground. However, as trade items, such as beaver pelts and wampum became rare or lost value and continued English immigration to New England weakened Dutch claims to the area, the middle ground began to crumble. As English-style farms and livestock changed the ecology of New England and the colonists sought to assert their will, Algonquians lost the ability to live as …

Paul M. Warburg: Founder Of The United States Federal Reserve, Richard A. Naclerio

History Faculty Publications

The name Paul Moritz Warburg is synonymous with the founding of the Federal Reserve System. Over the years preceding the formation of the Federal Reserve, Warburg wrote many essays and gave many public addresses on banking reform. His reform ideas were modeled on the central banking systems of many European counties he dealt with through the family business M.M. Warburg.

Economic Growth And Recovery In The United States, 1919-1941, Alexander J. Field

Economics

The first part of this chapter provides an overview of what lay behind record productivity growth in the US economy between 1929 and 1941. The second part considers the role of rigidities and other negative supply conditions in worsening the downturn and slowing recovery. While arguing consistently that the overarching explanation of the Great Depression will and should continue to emphasise a collapse and slow revival in the growth of aggregate demand, the chapter spends relatively little time on what drives this. The emphasis of the chapter is on aggregate supply—both the broad array of positive shocks that propelled potential …