Engines of Redemption: Railroads and the Reconstruction of Capitalism in the New South - Softcover

R. Scott Huffard Jr. (author)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1469652811 ISBN 13: 9781469652818

Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press, 2019

Synopsis

After the upheavals of the Civil War and Reconstruction shattered the plantation economy of the Old South, white southerners turned to the railroad to reconstruct capitalism in the region. Examining the rapid growth, systemization, and consolidation of the southern railroad network, R. Scott Huffard Jr. demonstrates how economic and political elites used the symbolic power of the railroad to proclaim a New South had risen. The railroad was more than just an economic engine of growth; it was a powerful symbol of capitalism's advance.

However, as the railroad spread across the region, it also introduced new dangers and anxieties. White southerners came to fear the railroad would speed an upending of the racial order, epidemics of yellow fever, train wrecks, violent robberies, and domination by corporate monopolies. To complete the reconstruction of capitalism, railroad corporations and their allies had to sever the negative aspects of railroading from capitalism's powers and deny the railroad's transformative powers to black southerners. This study of the New South's experience with the growing railroad network provides valuable insights into the history of capitalism--how it evolves, expands, and overcomes resistance.

About this title

About the Author

R. Scott Huffard Jr is assistant professor of history at Lees-McRae College.

Edition details

• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1469652811
• ISBN 13: 9781469652818
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 324