How America Became Capitalist

James Parisot

Description

Has America always been capitalist? Today, the US sees itself as the heartland of the international capitalist system, its society and politics intertwined deeply with its economic system. This book looks at the history of North America from the founding of the colonies to debunk the myth that America is 'naturally' capitalist.



From the first white-settler colonies, capitalist economic elements were apparent, but far from dominant, and did not drive the early colonial advance into the West. Society, too, was far from homogeneous - as the role of the state fluctuated. Racial identities took time to imprint, and slavery, whilst at the heart of American imperialism, took both capitalist and less-capitalist forms. Additionally, gender categories and relations were highly complex, as standards of ‘manhood’ and ‘womanhood’ shifted over time to accommodate capitalism, and as there were always some people challenging this binary.



By looking at this fascinating and complex picture, James Parisot weaves a groundbreaking historical materialist perspective on the history of American expansion.

Acknowledgements

Introduction: The Embrace of Empire

1. The Origins of Colonial Society

2. The Expansion of Empire

3. Kentucky and Ohio

4. Slavery and Capitalism

5. The Progress of Empire

6. The Consolidation of American Capitalism

Conclusion: Capital and the Conquest of Space

Notes

Index

Sujets

• Ethnic Studies
• Economic History
• HISTORY
• POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Histoire
• USA
• United States of America
• América del Norte
• Democratic Party
• American imperialism
• General officer
• South
• California Gold Rush
• Americas
• Politics
• North America
• Imperialism
• History of the Americas
• Capitalism
• American Revolution
• American Civil War
• Central
• Impérialisme (jeu vidéo)
• General
• États-Unis
• Guerre de Sécession

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 20 février 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781786803870
• Langue: English

Extrait

How America Became Capitalist
How America Became Capitalist
Imperial Expansion and the Conquest of the West
James Parisot
First published 2019 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright James Parisot 2019
The right of James Parisot to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 0 7453 3788 3 Hardback
ISBN 978 0 7453 3787 6 Paperback
ISBN 978 1 7868 0386 3 PDF eBook
ISBN 978 1 7868 0388 7 Kindle eBook
ISBN 978 1 7868 0387 0 EPUB eBook






This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental standards of the country of origin.
Typeset by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton, England
Simultaneously printed in the United Kingdom and United States of America
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction: The Embrace of Empire
1. The Origins of Colonial Society
2. The Expansion of Empire
3. Kentucky and Ohio
4. Slavery and Capitalism
5. The Progress of Empire
6. The Consolidation of American Capitalism
Conclusion: Capital and the Conquest of Space
Notes
Index
Acknowledgements
During the time this book was written, from its inception as a graduate school paper, to a dissertation, to its completed form, I worked as an adjunct instructor at five different universities. Writing a book while working as a precarious adjunct university employee can be an awkward and difficult experience. While many books contain statements of all the institutional support the scholar received, for an adjunct struggling to write while surviving by juggling whatever teaching positions they may find, and without a stable response to the question asked at conferences what school are you affiliated with? it is a complicated task to write a list of those who helped you through the process. This is due to the fact that adjunct instructors are generally treated as economic calculations on a spreadsheet, names to fill classes, and faceless figures floating in and out of departments. More broadly, the adjunctification of university teachers has reached a crisis point as well over two-thirds of faculty, in the US case, are some form of precarious labor. This is the result of the adoption of the business model of the university which puts money and impact factor over the education of students. And the dominance of precarious work in academic life has hit instructors in socially marginalized positions the hardest, whether it be due to structural discrimination based upon gender or race, class discrimination against those who could not afford elite universities, or simply the pushing aside of scholars working outside of the mainstream.
That being said, I would like to thank the Filson Historical Society for providing me with funding to dig through their archives. Working with Pluto Press has also been a refreshing experience in what can be an alienated world of publishing, and David Castle and Neda Tehrani have been especially helpful in supporting this book to see the light of day.
This work could not have been written without the support of my dissertation adviser, Fred Deyo, who took the time to figure out what I was trying to argue, even in messy and incipient forms, and understood the relationship between the research itself and the material conditions under which it was written. I could not have survived those difficult years at Binghamton University without the help and guidance of Linda Zanrucha and Denise Spadine, two of the most hard working and important members of the sociology department, and everyone else who expressed solidarity over the years in which this book was written. During this time, Walden Bello also supported my pre-dissertation work, and Ana Candela went out of her way to support my progress. It is sometimes difficult to draw a line between intellectual and emotional support, and in this regard, Ege zen, Sinem Silay zen, and Alper Ecevit worked to make sure I did not lose my c v k-ness (humor) after spending countless hours studying the depressing history of the United States. Babyrani Yumnam also contributed to this project in untold ways, often resulting in a large pile of books on the dinner table. I am thankful to the many other people who helped make this work possible. These include, in no particular order: Beng Kurtege-Sefer, Ak n Sefer, Deepan Ghimiray, Raju Huidrom, Katie Drouin, Nilufer Akalin, Kai Yang, Busra Ferligul, Mushahid Hussain, Alvin Camba, Nilay Ozok- G ndo an, Azat Zana G ndo an, and everyone else who expressed solidarity through those years of collective suffering.
From my days at York University in Toronto, Sean Starrs always kept me motivated with his unrestrained enthusiasm, as he continues to do so. Geoff McCormack s patience, thoughtfulness, and honesty has also served as a model for how to be both a thorough scholar and a decent human being, something that often gets lost in the world of academic egoism. Thanks also to Leo Panitch who supervised my master s thesis all those years ago, and has continued to support my progress through the academic world. I am also indebted to Brad Bauerly who took the time to read the project in its dissertation form in its entirety.
Going back to my undergraduate days at The Evergreen State College, thanks to Ellis Scharfenaker and Thomas Herndon for our jam sessions and discussions of Marxism and political economy, and to Philip Spencer for his unusual patience in reading and discussing. Adam Kohut also left a lasting political imprint on me, and remains a motivating force in pushing me to consider different ways of organizing work and social life. Special thanks to Alan Nasser for introducing me to the labor theory of value and opening my eyes as a young undergraduate.
Santino Regilme s practical wisdom has also guided me through the challenges of the publishing industry, and his good humor, combined with his sharp mind, helped to keep me moving forward. Sam Allingham has also served as a model writer-activist due to his unrelenting optimism and faith in the face of the uphill battle to organize contingent faculty. My bartender, Nice Guy Nate, also deserves gratitude for keeping our glasses full and our minds just soggy enough to sprout new ideas.
Ken Baker s humility was an inspiration for what a researcher and teacher should be. Tynesha Davis introduced me to new ideas and exemplified the passion necessary to make social change happen. Neither are here to read this book, but I hope you both would have liked it.
Thank you to my Turkish family, Ay e, Ilker, and Cem Tan r, Sirin Ozgun, and most importantly Yasemin and Leyla. And of course to my American family, too many to name, so I will leave it at you know who you are. Finally, this project would not exist were it not for my grandparents, to whom I am grateful: Betty and Bob Jones, Ron and Virginia Parisot, J.P. and Sue Quinn, and Bob and Alice Glasgow.
Most importantly of all, I thank Canan Tan r, whose ever critical mind has pushed me to take this book further than I would have been able to otherwise. Her presence pushes me to be a better scholar and a better person in ways words fail to capture.
On the Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America
The Muse, disgusted at an age and clime
Barren of every glorious theme,
In distant lands now waits a better time,
Producing subjects worthy fame.
In happy climes, where from the genial sun
And virgin earth such scenes ensue,
The force of art by nature seems outdone,
And fancied beauties by the true;
In happy climes, the seat of innocence,
Where nature guides and virtue rules,
Where men shall not impose for truth and sense
The pedantry of courts and schools:
There shall be sung another golden age,
The rise of empire and of arts,
The good and great inspiring epic rage,
The wisest heads and noblest hearts.
Not such as Europe breeds in her decay;
Such as she bred when fresh and young,
When heavenly flame did animate her clay,
By future poets shall be sung.
Westward the course of empire takes its way;
The four first Acts already past,
A fifth shall close the Drama with the day;
Time s noblest offspring is the last.
George Berkeley, 1728 1
Introduction: The Embrace of Empire
The phrase westward the course of empire takes its way originated in a poem by George Berkeley, who lived in Rhode Island from the late 1720s to early 1730s. The poem celebrated colonization as the advancement of human civilization and as the next step in the intellectual and geographical progress of western society. By the time of the Civil War, northerners had embraced the motto as part of their struggle against southern secession. In 1862, for example, Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze completed his painting Westward the Course of Empire Takes its Way for the US Capitol. 1 In many respects, his painting represents the typical image of American expansion: masculine pioneers, chopping down trees, charting the territory of future empire, while their wives and children follow to tame and populate the virginally gendered ecology. At the top a man stands reconnoitering the mountainous terrain while another climbs to hoist the American flag, forging the path of empire. In the middle of the painting is a black man-liberated from the chains of slavery-who can find freedom through empire, yet is subordinate to the white men charting the course. 2 And the pro-union newspaper out of Marysville, Kansas, The Big Blue Union , for instance, announced each issue with westward the course of empire takes its way! directly below the title of the paper itself. Its editor for a time, Edwin Manning, future member of the Kansas State House of Representatives, was per