Numerous charts and tables substantiate the author's analysis of the origins and manifestations of economic development of America before the Civil War

Excerpt from The Economic Growth of the United States, 1790-1860 Richard Beyer, John Bowman, Donald Farness, and Keith Phillips have all provided valuable research assistance in organiz ing the statistics for this study. The development of the export and import price indices was a particularly laborious task, and I am very much in their debt for the painstaking care with which the data were gathered and organized. Finally, Mrs. Ralph B. Ander son and Mrs. Robert O. Beale have toiled over this manuscript to a degree that puts me very much in their debt. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

North's study is a comprehensive and scholarly survey of the factors making for economic development in the United States in the period when its economy was building at the greatest rate in its history. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This benchmark volume addresses the debate over the effects of early industrialization on standards of living during the decades before the Civil War. Its contributors demonstrate that the aggregate antebellum economy was growing faster than any other large economy had grown before. Despite the dramatic economic growth and rise in income levels, questions remain as to the general quality of life during this era. Was the improvement in income widely shared? How did economic growth affect the nature of work? Did higher levels of income lead to improved health and longevity? The authors address these questions by analyzing new estimates of labor force participation, real wages, and productivity, as well as of the distribution of income, height, and nutrition.