Ohio Canal Era

by Scheiber, Harry N.; Friedman, Lawrence M.

• ISBN13: 9780821419793
• ISBN10: 082141979X
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-02-07
• Publisher: Ohio Univ Pr

Summary

Ohio Canal Era, a rich analysis of state policies and their impact in directing economic change, is a classic on the subject of the pre ;Civil War transportation revolution. This edition contains a new foreword by scholar Lawrence M. Friedman and a bibliographic note by the author. Professor Scheiber explores how Ohio-as a ;public enterprise state, ; creating state agencies and mobilizing public resources for transport innovation and control-led in the process of economic change before the Civil War. No other historical account of the period provides so full and insightful a portrayal of ;law in action. ; Scheiber reveals the important roles of American nineteenth- century government in economic policy-making, finance, administration, and entrepreneurial activities in support of economic development. His study is equally important as an economic history. Scheiber provides a full account of waves of technological innovation and of the transformation of Ohio's commerce, agriculture, and industrialization in an era of hectic economic change. And he tells the intriguing story of how the earliest railroads of the Old Northwest were built and financed, finally confronting the state- owned canal system with a devastating competitive challenge. Amid the current debate surrounding ;privatization, ; ;deregulation, ; and the appropriate use of ;industrial policy ; by government to shape and channel the economy. Scheiber's landmark study gives vital historical context to issues of privatization and deregulation that we confront in new forms today.

Author Biography

Harry N. Scheiber is the Riesenfeld Chair Professor of Law and History in the School of Law, University of California, Berkeley. Among his other publications arc American Economic History; American Law and the Constitutional Order; Inter-Allied Conflicts and Ocean Law; The State and Freedom of Contract; The Wilson Administration and Civil Liberties; and some 150 articles in journals of history, law, economics, and political science.

Table of Contents

Tables	p. xi
Maps and Charts	p. xiii
Abbreviations	p. xiv
Foreword	p. xv
Preface	p. xix
Preface to the 1987 Edition	p. xxiii
Bibliographic Note, 1987	p. xxvii
Bibliographic Note, 2012	p. xxxi
The State Enterprise, 1820-1850	p. 1
Toward a Canal Policy, 1820-1825	p. 7
Construction and Finance, 1825-1833	p. 36
Administration of the Enterprise, 1825-1833	p. 61
Egalitarian Ideals and Pressure for Expansion, 1825-1838	p. 88
The Public Works and Mixed Enterprise, 1836-1845	p. 120
Financing Expansion, 1836-1845	p. 140
Administration: Change and Adjustment, 1833-1850	p. 164
The Course of Economic Change, 1820-1851	p. 183
The Canals in the Economy, 1820-1840	p. 187
The Transportation Revolution: Second Phase, 1840-1851	p. 212
State Rate-Making and Market Allocation, 1827-1851	p. 247
Beginning of the Railroad Age: To 1861	p. 269
Competition and Response: The Ohio Railroads, 1826-1861	p. 275
Transportation and Economic Change, 1850-1860	p. 318
Conclusion	p. 353
Appendices:
The Sources of Capital	p. 371
Tolls on the Ohio Canals	p. 380
Tonnage of Canal Commerce	p. 387
Estimating "Indirect Returns"	p. 391
Bibliography	p. 398
Index	p. 423
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