Title Cotton capitalists : American Jewish entrepreneurship in the Reconstruction era / Michael R. Cohen

Published New York : New York University Press, [2017]

Click on the following:
EBSCO eBooks
ProQuest Ebook Central

Copies

Description 1 online resource (xv, 259 pages .) Series The Goldstein-Goren series in American Jewish history Goldstein-Goren series in American Jewish history. Contents Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Maps -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. The Antebellum Cotton Economy -- 2. The War Years -- 3. Timing Is Everything -- 4. Networks from Above -- 5. Networks from Below -- 6. The End of the Niche Economy -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Index -- About the Author Summary In the nineteenth century, Jewish merchants created a thriving niche economy in the United States' most important industry-cotton-positioning themselves at the forefront of expansion during the Reconstruction Era. Jewish success in the cotton industry was transformative for both Jewish communities and their development, and for the broader economic restructuring of the South. Cotton Capitalists analyzes this niche economy and reveals its origins. Michael R. Cohen argues that Jewish merchants' status as a minority fueled their success by fostering ethnic networks of trust. Trust in the nineteenth century was the cornerstone of economic transactions, and this trust was largely fostered by ethnicity. Much as money flowed along ethnic lines between Anglo-American banks, Jewish merchants in the Gulf South used their own ethnic ties with other Jewish-owned firms in New York, as well as Jewish investors across the globe, to capitalize their businesses. They relied on these family connections to direct Northern credit and goods to the war-torn South, avoiding the constraints of the anti-Jewish prejudices which had previously denied them access to credit, allowing them to survive economic downturns. These American Jewish merchants reveal that ethnicity matters in the development of global capitalism. Ethnic minorities are and have frequently been at the forefront of entrepreneurship, finding innovative ways to expand narrow sectors of the economy. While this was certainly the case for Jews, it has also been true for other immigrant groups more broadly Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes In English Print version record Subject Cotton trade -- United States -- History -- 19th century Entrepreneurship -- United States -- History -- 19th century Jews -- United States -- History -- 19th century Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) BUSINESS & ECONOMICS -- Commerce. BUSINESS & ECONOMICS -- Industries -- General. Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) Commerce Cotton trade Entrepreneurship Jews SUBJECT United States -- Commerce -- History. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85139975 Subject United States Genre/Form History Form Electronic book LC no. 2017008082 ISBN 9781479843527 1479843520 1479881015 9781479881017

  Permalink