One Kind of Freedom: The Economic Consequences of Emancipation [Paperback]

Roger L. Ransom (Author), Richard Sutch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 16, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0521795508 | ISBN-13: 978-0521795500 | Edition: 2

One Kind of Freedom examines the economic institutions that replaced slavery and the conditions under which ex-slaves were allowed to enter the economic life of the United States following the Civil War. The authors contend that although the kind of freedom permitted to black Americans allowed substantial increases in their economic welfare, it effectively curtailed further black advancement and retarded Southern economic development. The new edition of this economic history classic includes a new introduction by the authors, an extensive bibliography of works in Southern history published since the appearance of the first edition, and revised findings based on newly available data and statistical techniques.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Twenty-five years have passed since the first edition of One Kind of Freedom achieved the rare scholarly distinction of setting the terms of debate for an ensuing generation of researchers in an entire field of historical inquiry...[Ransom and Sutch's] core findings hold up remarkably well." Journal of American Ethnic History

"...classic economic history..." Civil War Book Review

"Few works in southern economic history have achieved the level of respect and renown enjoyed by Roger Ransom and Richard Sutch's path-breaking 1977 book One Kind of Freedom: The Economic Consequences of Emancipation...If any single work can be said to have transformed an entire field in history, this is it...One Kind of Freedom is clear, strongly argued, and packs a punch. Moreover, the authors' findings are based on an impressive, indeed, awe-inspiring research base, and their employment and promotion of relatively underutilized sources...was at once innovative and transformative." Peter A. Coclanis, Reviews in American History

"When published in 1977, ^One Kind of Freedom became an instant classic.... The publication of a second edition is a useful reminder of a truly seminal conceptualization of Southern History." Choice

"...clearly written and closely reasoned...One Kind of Freedeom is likely to remain what it has been for a quarter-century now: the single best introduction to the economy of the early postemancipation South." H-Net Reviews

Book Description

One Kind of Freedom examines the economic institutions that replaced slavery and the conditions under which ex-slaves were allowed to enter the economic life of the United States following the Civil War. The authors contend that although the kind of freedom permitted to black Americans allowed substantial increases in their economic welfare, it effectively curtailed further black advancement and retarded Southern economic development. The new edition of this economic history classic includes a new introduction by the authors, an extensive bibliography of works in Southern history published since the appearance of the first edition, and revised findings based on newly available data and statistical techniques.

Product Details

• Paperback: 488 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (July 16, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521795508
• ISBN-13: 978-0521795500
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #993,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Economics for Historians, September 7, 2001

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: One Kind of Freedom: The Economic Consequences of Emancipation (Paperback)

In essence, this is an economic interpretation of Southern history in the late nineteenth century based primarily on statistical data. The authors began this project when they noticed the scarcity of scholarship concerning the economic institutions which took the place of slavery in the South; they felt it necessary for the understanding of the Negro experience to understand the manner in which the Negro entered into a nonbinding economic lifestyle in the years after the War Between the States and Reconstruction. A primary concern of the authors was the economic malaise of the South agriculturally and certainly industrially in the period from 1865 to 1914, a time of impressive economic growth elsewhere in the nation.

The authors devote much of their study to a region they define as the Cotton South, wherein they see homogeneous development. They stress the fact that they are economists and not historians--political, social, and cultural history are beyond the scope of this book. While the authors may at times refer to economic effects of noneconomic forces, they make no attempt to do anything more than offer an economic interpretation of the post-emancipation South; that alone signifies their contribution to the historical field. In the end, they give their ideas as to the evolution of a Southern economy that exploited farmers--white and black--and allowed for little or no industrial development.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellenty arranged & great to read, April 5, 2002

By 

The Metatron (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Kind of Freedom: The Economic Consequences of Emancipation (Paperback)

I was a student of Dr. Ransom at the University of California, Riverside, and I majored in history. Though Dr. Ransom generally is considered an economist, he--more than anyone I've ever read or heard lecture--is able to articulate and present economics within its proper historical parameters, and show you exactly how, for example, whatever historical event is occurring, this is how it affected the world--the people--economically.