How America Became Capitalist: Imperial Expansion and the Conquest of the West

Description

No nation in the history of the world has been more closely identified with capitalism than the United States. Capitalism, politicians and business leaders confidently assert, is and always has been at the heart of the American dream. Not so fast, says James Parisot. InHow America Became Capitalist, he tells the little-known story of how our economic system came to be, and of the alternatives that were sidelined along the way. Capitalist elements were apparent from the first colonies of white settlers, but they were far from dominant, and they weren’t the driving factor in the advancement of colonies deeper into the continent. Even slavery, which was at the heart of both American capitalism and imperialism throughout much of the nation’s growth, was less a monolithic force than a series of complicated encounters that took different forms. Individual difference slowed the homogenization of capitalism as well, as transgender people, gays and lesbians, and people in interracial relationships all brought complexity to the market’s idea of the typical household. At a moment when the long-term viability of capitalism is coming increasingly into question,How America Became Capitalistreminds us that the path to its dominance was never so smooth, nor so complete, as its champions would have us believe.   Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 7 Introduction: The Embrace of Empire......Page 12 1. The Origins of Colonial Society......Page 31 2. The Expansion of Empire......Page 60 3. Kentucky and Ohio......Page 93 4. Slavery and Capitalism......Page 123 5. The Progress of Empire......Page 141 6. The Consolidation of American Capitalism......Page 172 Conclusion: Capital and the Conquest of Space......Page 200 Notes......Page 208 Index......Page 260