The Transformation of the American Economy, 1865-1914: An Essay in Interpretation (review)

BOOK REVIEWS55 The Transformation of the American Economy, 1865-1914: An Essay in Interpretation. By Robert Higgs. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1971. Pp. xv, 143. $5.95.) Number three in the new Wiley Series in American Economic History, like its predecessors by Andreano and Hacker, respectively, introduces the reader to recent research efforts in economic history. The Transformation of the American Economy is composed of a series of essays pitched at a nontechnical level with the aim of exposing students of history and economic history to the nature of the "new" economic history . The post-Civil War period, an area relatively untouched by cliometricians , is the focus of the Higgs volume. In the first of five chapters the case is presented for theory as a tool for furthering the understanding of otherwise chaotic historical facts. Chapter two presents the evidence of economic growth, data on output, prices, and population in the 1865-1914 era, an empirical starting point from which Higgs examines some explanations for America 's economic golden age. Population analysis is the subject of chapter three. In addition to the importance of the shift of population geographically during the period under study, Higgs recognizes the rural to urban movement as the "most significant aspect of America's transformation in the post-Civil War era." Further, he presents the theory, with supporting evidence, that urban growth was not only a result of economic growth, but the reverse was additionally the case. The author supplies data from his own research to support the conclusion that urban living stimulated inventiveness, the first step towards improved technology and further growth. Finally, the author discusses the hypothesis that the choice of city living was rationally made by American, despite claims to the contrary. Chapter four presents various studies regarding farmers and farming in the years after the Civil War, but, quoting the author, "Taken together, all these findings do not amount to much, certainly not enough to enlarge substantially our understanding of nineteenth century agrarian radicalism." "Growth and Inequality," the final essay in this work, begins with an inquiry into regional differentials in growth during the study period. From regional disparities Higgs progresses into an analysis of what might be termed personal inequalities as he sets out his study of immigrant exploitation. In what is clearly the most productive and revealing study of the book the author convincingly challenges the long accepted assertion that immigrants into America experienced unjustifiable wage discrimination. Further, the analysis is extended to provide support to the assertion that black Americans did in fact suffer unjustifiable wage discrimination. Finally, a note on the unevenness of benefits and costs of economic growth reminds the reader that growth, while clearly beneficial for society in the aggregate, was not necessarily desirable for each member of that aggregation. 56CIVIL WAR HISTORY This volume should be added to reading lists suggested for students of history and especially economic history of that period beyond the Civil War. In addition to the advantages of brevity, elementary approach , and balance, the books offers a good bibliography. Overall, then, this compact volume may be expected to serve as an introduction to the "new" economic history of the post-Civil War era at least until time brings the results of further advanced research and with it, a superior introductory volume. David O. Whitten Auburn University Religion and the Rise of the American City: The New York City Mission Movement, 1812-1870. By Carroll Smith Rosenberg. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1971. Pp. x, 300. $10.95.) In this revision of a 1968 Columbia University dissertation, Carroll Smith Rosenberg examines the response of Protestants in New York City to urban poverty from 1812 to 1870. Unlike scholars such as Raymond Mohl who have emphasized the desire for social control as the primary motivation of religious missions and philanthropic institutions, Rosenberg views the New York City Tract Society, the Female Moral Reform Society, and the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor as outgrowths of the spread of evangelical revivalism and the influence of English missionary organizations among American Protestants. Individual salvation could be attained, society perfected, and poverty eliminated through purposeful activity directed at the moral instruction and...