Railroads in the Old South
Subtitle: pursuing progress in a slave society
By: Aaron W. Marrs.
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Baltimore
Language: eng
Number of pages: 268
ISBN-13: 9780801891304
Subjects: Railroads -- Southern States -- History -- 19th century; Southern States -- History -- 1775-1865
Description: Aaron W. Marrs challenges the accepted understanding of economic and industrial growth in antebellum America with this original study of the history of the railroad in the Old South. Drawing from both familiar and overlooked sources, such as the personal diaries of Southern travelers, papers and letters from civil engineers, corporate records, and contemporary newspaper accounts, Marrs skillfully expands on the conventional business histories that have characterized scholarship in this field. He situates railroads in the fullness of antebellum life, examining how slavery, technology, labor, social convention, and the environment shaped their evolution. --From book jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Dreams; title: Knowledge; title: Sweat; title: Structure; title: Motion; title: Passages; title: Communities.