| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 107.1

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to the AHR online. About 224 words from this article are provided below; about 511 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the American Historical Association, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time. AHA members can go to the AHA individual membership section to locate their member numbers.
If you are not a member of the American Historical Association, you can:: • Join the AHA and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the American Historical Review.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the American Historical Review (104.3-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the American Historical Review.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 107.1 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Canada and the United States

John Majewski. A House Dividing: Economic Development in Pennsylvania and Virginia Before the Civil War. New York: Cambridge University Press. (Studies in Economic History and Policy.) 2000. Pp. xvii, 214. $49.95.

John Majewski here contributes to the time-honored debate over the regional divergence of the antebellum North and South. Focusing on the funding and development of internal improvements (turnpikes, canals, and railroads) in Albemarle County, Virginia, and Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Majewski explores how certain southerners and northerners viewed and participated in "market development." Majewski excels at explaining complex economic processes and theories in straightforward terms, and the result is an informative, provocative book. 1

Majewski works to debunk stereotypes of how the two regions diverged. He argues that Virginians were neither precapitalist nor opposed to state intervention in the economy. Virginia, in fact, was home to more banking capital and more railroad track per capita than was Pennsylvania in 1860. The North, for its part, also defies easy characterization: not all Pennsylvania artisans were transformed into workers, for example, nor were merchants' and artisans' interests always at odds. Moreover, populations tended to settle where there was industry, not vice versa. While not without historiographical precedents, these arguments, when taken together, form the basis of a well-structured, creative approach to understanding the era's economic culture. . . .

There are about 511 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.