From Antebellum to Fordism: The Role of the South and Local Regimes in U.S. Capitalist Development

This work examines the economic and social development of the South from the Antebellum period to the period of U.S. capitalist development that the regulationists called "Fordism." The regulationist approach provides a framework for capturing how the South produced a unique territorial capitalism. The South diverged somewhat from the classical route to industrialization, forming a distinctive territorial capitalism due to a unique set of regulations that guided the regime of accumulation. The postbellum regime of the South opted for the "Prussian route" to industrial capitalism, a less intensive regime. The restructuring of the southern economy due to the Great Depression provided a locational window of opportunity for the spread of "peripheral Fordism" in the region, restructuring further the southern political economy. The response of local regimes in the South to Fordism is also examined.