America In Struggle
“Was America Born Capitalist” by Gordon Wood deals with the creation of capitalism in America. Gordon begins his essay by asserting that regardless of the debates on the definition of capitalism, most scholars agree, “that the sources of the transition from feudalism to capitalism lay in the changing nature of rural society." More simply, as civilization becomes more advanced, capitalism becomes inevitable. Beyond this point of agreement, Wood explains, scholars have recently diverged into two schools of thought.
“Market historians,” Wood explains, believe that capitalism has always been present in America while “moral economy historians” challenge that notion. Not only do they argue that New England farmers were not capitalistic, they also consider capitalism immoral. Though they acknowledge that southern and middle colonies had been trading internationally for a while, the New England farmers were only supplying themselves. Moral economy historians go on to explain that most commerce was on a bartering system, farmers traded with one another for goods. “These social historians see them as pre-modern husbandmen trying to avoid market participation in order to preserve their moral and communal culture.” Wood explains, that although the differences between the two types of scholars seem large, it’s really just a matter of definition. They all agree on what colonial behavior was like, Wood says, “they just don’t agree on what to call it.” Both groups of historians agree that major economic changes occurred at the beginning of the 19th century. The real disagreement, Wood explains, is the difference between farming for survival and farming for profit. The moral historians' distaste for capitalism causes them to create a negative and exaggerated image of a capitalist. This prevents these historians from identifying any morally right person as a capitalist. Wood uses a New England farmer, William Manning, to help illustrate. “Was...
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