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Title: Capital Destruction and Economic Growth: The Effects of Sherman's March, 1850-1920

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2017

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Abstract: Using General William Sherman's 1864-65 military march through Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina during the American Civil War, this paper studies the eect of capital destruction on short- and long-run local economic activity, and the role of nancial markets in the recovery process. We match an 1865 US War Department map of Sherman's march to county level demographic, agricultural, and manufacturing data from 1850-1920 US Censuses. We show that the capital destruction induced by the March led to a large contraction in agricultural investment, farming asset prices, and manufacturing activity. Elements of the decline in agriculture persisted through 1920. Using information on local banks and access to credit, we argue that the underdevelopment of nancial markets played a role in weakening the recovery.

Url: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d452/a8307276f7957745b63b16f12bb79dffddf6.pdf

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Authors: Feigenbaum, James, J; Lee, James; Mezzanotti, Filippo

Publisher: Princeton University

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Other

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