Government and the American Economy

A New History

Price V. Fishback

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Year: 2008
• Print ISBN:
  9780226251288
  9780226251271
• eBook ISBN:
  9780226251295
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Government & Business
• Index: History

The American economy has provided a level of well-being that has consistently ranked at or near the top of the international ladder. A key source of this success has been widespread participation in political and economic processes. In The Government and the American Economy, leading economic historians chronicle the significance of America's open-access society and the roles played by government in its unrivaled success story.

America's democratic experiment, the authors show, allowed individuals and interest groups to shape the structure and policies of government, which, in turn, have fostered economic success and innovation by emphasizing private property rights, the rule of law, and protections of individual freedom. In response to new demands for infrastructure, America's federal structure hastened development by promoting the primacy of states, cities, and national governments. More recently, the economic reach of American government expanded dramatically as the populace accepted stronger limits on its economic freedoms in exchange for the increased security provided by regulation, an expanded welfare state, and a stronger national defense.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Copyright
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Tables and Figures
• About the Authors
• Foreword
• 1. Government and the Economy
• 2. Government in Colonial America
• 3. The Founding Era, 1774–1791
• 4. Property Rights and Federal Land Policy
• 5. Reversing Financial Reversals: Government and the Financial System since 1789
• 6. The National Era
• 7. The Civil War and Reconstruction
• 8. Government and the American Dilemma
• 9. The Gilded Age
• 10. The Progressive Era
• 11. Government and the People: Labor, Education, and Health
• 12. The Federal Bureaucracy: From Patronage to Civil Service
• 13. The New Deal
• 14. The World Wars
• 15. The Growth of U.S. Farm Programs
• 16. Shaping Welfare Policy: The Role of the South
• 17. Seeking Security in the Postwar Era
• Appendix A. Key Indicators of Economic and Government Activity
• Appendix B. The Articles of Confederation
• Appendix C. The Constitution of the United States
• Appendix D. The Bill of Rights
• Index