Course Description

This course will examine the historical development of the U.S. economy from the colonial period to the present. The main questions addressed are:

(1) What are the reasons for the successes of the U.S. economy (growth, increased productivity, increased living standards, etc.)?
(2) What are the causes of the problems or failures in the U.S. economy (unemployment, inflation, inequality, poverty, etc.)?
(3) How have different groups in society (classes, races, and genders) been affected differently by these successes and failures?
(4) What has been the role of the government in the U.S. economy?
(5) To what extent have wars in U.S. history been caused by economic conflicts?

We will also examine these important questions from various perspectives. We will compare how the disciplines of economics and history study different periods in US history. Within economics, we will consider three different perspectives: "old" (or institutional) economic history, "new" (or neoclassical) economic history, and Marxian economic history. One of the goals of the course will be to better understand the relative strengths and weaknesses of these different approaches to U.S. economic history.