The economy of the United States is constantly evolving in response to wars, technological innovations, cultural revolutions, and political maneuverings. Tracing the economic machine of the United States from its first experiments in the colonies to the post-Great Recession era of today, Frederick S. Weaver creates a dynamic narrative of this country's progression through times of feast and times of famine. Weaver explores diverse areas of the market beyond the financial sector, examining historical fluctuations in distribution of income, how the ebb and flow of specific industries have influenced the shape of the market, and, ultimately, how the economy of the United States has made America the nation we know today. An Economic History of the United States is a thoughtful and accessible introduction to the subject of American economic history, suitable for undergraduate courses in U.S. political and economic history.

Table of Contents Introduction: Some Initial Definitions and Organizational Strategies Part I: Colonial Roots Chapter 1: Mercantilism, British Colonialism, and Independence Part II: The New Nation: From Revolution to Civil War Chapter 2: Defining the New Nation Chapter 3: Regions, Sections, and Civil War Part III: Fifty Years after the Civil War Chapter 4: Wartime Legislation, Western Expansion, and Reconstruction Chapter 5: Changing Forms of Industrial Development Chapter 6: Social Change, Politics, and Reform Chapter 7: The United States in the World Part IV: Into the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries Chapter 8: War, Depression, War Chapter 9: Post-World War II Recovery, Institutional Innovation, Chapter 10: The Demise of the Bretton Woods System and the Dissolution of U.S. Modern Times, 1980 Chapter 11: The Great Recession, Austerity, and Three Worrisome Tendencies Glossary Bibliography