The Economy of Early America: Historical Perspectives and New Directions

“The Economy of Early America offers a stimulating overview of recent historical writing on the economic history of early America.”

–Richard R. John William and Mary Quarterly

“As this volume documents, the economy, whether measured through numbers, words, or some combination of the two, deserves more attention from scholars who would not necessarily consider themselves economic specialists. At the very least, Matson’s sweeping survey of the field should be required reading for every graduate student of early American history, whatever their research interests.”

–Jessica Lepler Journal of the Early Republic

“Matson’s survey is ideal for graduate students preparing for exams or for more advanced scholars seeking to make a foray into the field. . . . This book is a clarion call for economic historians to go forth and proclaim the good news: economic history still has something to tell us. In its division between historiography and history, it suggests that we need as many evangelists as practitioners if we are to bring economics to history’s masses.”

–James Fichter Common-Place

“The diversity of the contributions and the variety of interpretive and methodological approaches speak to the richness of the work of economic historians since 1985.

Matson’s volume provides a valuable introduction to and survey of the historiography of the early American economy . . . and it reveals a field that has abandoned narrow definitions of economic history in an effort to incorporate the insights of other approaches and disciplines.”

–A. Glenn Crothers Journal of Southern History

“With such a diversity of topics, any reader will find it hard to challenge Matson’s vibrant depiction of early American economic history and its potential to continue to make substantial contributions to our understanding of the past. Whatever quibbles readers may have with the individual essays, this volume undoubtedly will inspire new scholars to consider, as well as old scholars to reconsider, the value of economic history to historical inquiries, which is precisely the book’s purpose.”

–Troy Bickham Itinerario

Cathy Matson is Professor of History at the University of Delaware and Director of the Program in Early American Economy and Society at the Library Company of Philadelphia.