This book is a student reader of the key topics in American economic history. The readings are organised chronologically and thematically, covering such topics as: the colonial and early national economy, slavery and indentured servitude, the South since the Civil War, the origins of American industrial success, the causes of farm protest in the late nineteenth century, the role of women in the economy, and the Great Depression. Introductions add context, provide critical questions about the arguments and evidence, note important subsequent works, and suggest additional readings. Also included are a glossary and an appendix that provides a clear, simple introduction to regression analysis, needed to read the increasingly technical 'cliometric' articles in the field.

This book is a student reader of the key topics in American economic history. The readings are organised chronologically and thematically, covering such topics as: the colonial and early national economy, slavery and indentured servitude, the South since the Civil War, the origins of American industrial success, the causes of farm protest in the late nineteenth century, the role of women in the economy, and the Great Depression. Introductions add context, provide critical questions about the arguments and evidence, note important subsequent works, and suggest additional readings. Also included are a glossary and an appendix that provides a clear, simple introduction to regression analysis, needed to read the increasingly technical 'cliometric' articles in the field.

With the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) looming large and imminent, the authors of this book explore the socio-economic fabric of the U.S.-Mexico border region as a measure of NAFTA's future. Crisis on the Rio Grande presents the social and economic history, as well as the potential, of the Lower Rio Grande Valley on the Texas-Mexico border. The authors discuss issues of poverty, colonias, the maquiladora industry, border migration, and NAFTA's potential impact on the economy, infrastructure, and environment of the border region. This timely study will interest economists, policy analysts, U.S.-Mexico border region specialists, and students of the North American Free Trade Agreement.