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Securing the Fruits of Labor: The American Concept of Wealth Distribution, 1765-1900
Securing the Fruits of The American Concept of Wealth Distribution, 1765-1900 James L. Securing the Fruits of The American Concept of Wealth Distribution, 1765-1900 Louisiana State University FIRST First Edition, First Printing. Published by Louisiana State University Press, 1998. Octavo. Hardcover. Book is like new with light white marks on bottom board edges. Dust jacket is like new. An excellent copy of this comprehensive American history title. 100% positive feedback. 30 day money back guarantee. NEXT DAY SHIPPING! Excellent customer service. Please email with any questions. All books packed carefully and ship with free delivery confirmation/tracking. All books come with free bookmarks. Ships from Sag Harbor, New York.Seller 362666 History We Buy Books! Collections - Libraries - Estates - Individual Titles. Message us if you have books to sell!
- GenresEconomics
482 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 13, 2018
A little long in the tooth by this date, but one of my favorite Labour/Capital books from my days at university. Huston's essential thesis is that in the early republic period Americans conceived of their nation as being equitable in comparison to the European model that they were freeing from. The key concept was that each person was entitled to the just fruits of their own labor.
It was believed that the super-wealth of the aristocracy in Europe was largely created by primogeniture, which was of course not the case in the US. It was also believed that the open frontier in the US would help alleviate the problem and leave the US as a nation of small freeholders. This worked out for the white Americans until the post-Civil War era, but industrialization, largely enabled by the iron roads led to mass consolidations of capital and our own super-wealthy class and the concept of "just fruits" could thus be flipped around to defend the robber barons and their mass acquisition of wealth.
Obviously dense as it is an academic work, but fast reading for its girth. One of the few uni books that I've re-read in subsequent years.
It was believed that the super-wealth of the aristocracy in Europe was largely created by primogeniture, which was of course not the case in the US. It was also believed that the open frontier in the US would help alleviate the problem and leave the US as a nation of small freeholders. This worked out for the white Americans until the post-Civil War era, but industrialization, largely enabled by the iron roads led to mass consolidations of capital and our own super-wealthy class and the concept of "just fruits" could thus be flipped around to defend the robber barons and their mass acquisition of wealth.
Obviously dense as it is an academic work, but fast reading for its girth. One of the few uni books that I've re-read in subsequent years.
April 15, 2026
Sophomoric, but it has a great bibliography and some decent information, which is mostly quotes from the period and some good graphs. You can probably get everything you need from the first 1/3rd of the book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews