Ohio Canal Era: A Case Study of Government and the Economy, 1820-1861

"Ohio Canal Era," a rich analysis of state policies and their impact in directing economic change, is a classic on the subject of the pre-Civil War transportation revolution. This edition contains a new foreword by scholar Lawrence M. Friedman and a bibliographic note by the author. Professor Scheiber explores how Ohio--as a "public enterprise state," creating state agencies and mobilizing public resources for transport innovation and control--led in the process of economic change before the Civil War. No other historical account of the period provides so full and insightful a portrayal of "law in action." Scheiber reveals the important roles of American nineteenth- century government in economic policy-making, finance, administration, and entrepreneurial activities in support of economic development.