RESPONDING TO RELATIVE DECLINE - THE PLANK ROAD BOOM OF ANTEBELLUM NEW-YORK

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: University of California System; University of California Irvine
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC HISTORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0507
• DOI: 10.1017/S0022050700012407
• 发表日期: 1993
• 页码: 106-122
• 关键词: america

摘要

From 1847 to 1853 New Yorkers built more than 3,500 miles of wooden roads. Financed primarily by residents of declining rural townships, plank roads were seen as a means of linking isolated areas to the canal and railroad network. A broad range of individuals invested in the roads, suggesting that the drive for bigger markets was supported by a large cross section of the population. Considerable community spirit animated the movement, indicating that New Yorkers used the social capital of the community to reach their entrepreneurial aspirations.