By Sherwood<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

A popular subject for historians, the growth of railroads in America enjoys abundant scholarship. Unfortunately, most authors describe this process using sweeping generalizations. They rarely pay special attention to the railroads of a specific region. However, \u201cRailroads in the Old South\u201d by Aaron W. Marrs, \u201cPlanting a Capitalist South\u201d by Tom Downey and \u201cMajor Cambell Wallace\u201d by William Ketchersid represent deviations from the norm, comprising a small corpus of material on trains in the antebellum South. Together, they preserve the endangered histories of these unique railroads. Finally, \u201cA New Look at Antebellum Southern Railroad Development\u201d by James A. Ward delivers on its titular promise, acknowledging the historiographical state of the field and suggesting an alternative narrative.<\/p>\n

\u201cRailroads in the Old South\u201d by Aaron W. Marrs provides an authoritative and comprehensive exposition on the subject. First, he describes the adoption process. Advocates, called \u201cBoosters,\u201d claimed railroads were \u201csuperior to alternative forms of transportation, would improve commerce in the South, and would bind the country together to preserve both the union and slavery.\u201d^{[1]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> However, early railroad companies struggled to effectively implement this new technology. Marrs argues the equestrian imagery with which they frequently branded themselves demonstrates their profound unfamiliarity with trains.[2]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n}

Laying the tracks, which involved driving spikes and fastening iron rails to wooden ties, represented another major challenge for these firms, concerning labor. As Tom Downey briefly mentioned, in the South, slaves built the railroads. But early railroad companies were still hard pressed to acquire the labor they needed. Marrs argues competing with plantation owners almost always resulted in shortage. He also adds that by performing nearly every role in railroad construction, slaves \u201cdemonstrated to white Southerners the reliability of slave labor in non-agricultural pursuits,\u201d thereby changing their role in society.^{[3]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n}

Marrs concludes his book by describing how Southern communities responded to the introduction of railroads. Some celebrated their arrival and appreciated the convenience they afforded. Others vehemently defended their cultural expectations. For example, Sabbatarians sought to prevent railroads from operating on Sundays, which offended their religious principles.^{[4]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> In every case, this new technology shattered premodern perspectives and required some getting used to.<\/p>\n}

In \u201cPlanting a Capitalist South,\u201d Tom Downey describes how railroads benefited South Carolina economically. Specifically, they connected producers with consumers, fostered private enterprise and strengthened tangentially-related industries. Farmers \u201csent cotton bales to Charleston by rail\u2026 while returning trains reciprocated with a steady bounty of goods and merchandise to satiate consumer appetites in interior districts.\u201d^{[5]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> By promoting interregional commerce, railroads significantly reduced the severity of surplus and deficiency experienced in isolated areas. Most importantly, they facilitated the rise of \u201cKing Cotton\u201d by \u201cerecting a quick, convenient, and reliable means of transport.\u201d[6]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n}

Railroads also introduced the \u201cmodern business corporation\u201d to the region, which aside from a \u201chandful of Charleston-based banking institutions,\u201d was inexperienced with large scale business operations.^{[7]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Their construction coincided with the Market Revolution, when entrepreneurs adopted advanced accounting techniques and complex corporate structures. Downey argues they brought private enterprise to the forefront of the Southern consciousness, which previously focused primarily on agriculture. For example, risk-taking entrepreneurs established railroad companies. Despite demanding \u201cunprecedented capital requirements,\u201d these firms frequently suffered from mismanagement and occasionally collapsed dramatically, making investors wary about such ventures.[8]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> The business could be quite lucrative in other cases.<\/p>\n}

Finally, Downey adds that railroads benefited other industries in South Carolina. For example, railroad companies bought large tracts of land and significantly increased the value of adjacent property. Timber, iron and labor were necessary to construct the rails, the latter of which slaveowners eagerly supplied. In sum, Downey’s economic perspective explains that almost everyone in the South benefitted from this particular innovation in transportation.<\/p>\n

In \u201cMajor Cambell Wallace,\u201d William Ketchersid enumerates the contributions of Wallace, president of the East Tennessee & Georgia line, while also shedding light on this particular railroad’s troubled past. In 1852, Wallace commandeered the company and immediately began building a route between Knoxville, TN and Dalton, GA and a \u201cbridge over the Tennessee River at Loudon.\u201d^{[9]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> The latter demanded significant resources, including civil engineers and architects. Bridge-building became a major industry alongside railroads. Ketchersid explains that Wallace accomplished both his goals, doubled profits and paid handsome dividends. He also coordinated connections with the Chattanooga and Western & Atlantic lines thereby making the entire region more accessible.<\/p>\n}

Despite these improvements, the East Tennessee & Georgia remains a dramatic example of what went wrong for early railroad companies. Established in the late 1830s as the Hiwassee Railroad Company, renamed and refinanced in 1847, the railroad took almost twenty years to become profitable. The technological innovation also disrupted existing industries, prompting backlash. For example, one steamboat companies complained about the East Tennessee & Georgia’s competition. In response, Wallace boldly asserted his company could operate more efficiently and for less.^{[10]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Also, transferring to the Chattanooga and Western & Atlantic lines required passengers to disembark one train and then board the other, in addition to moving their cargo, since track gauges were unstandardized. Ketchersid’s article argues that Wallace rescued the most significant railroad in the region and in doing so provides an excellent view of the challenges that early railroad companies faced.<\/p>\n}

Whereas these previous works were largely concordant, \u201cA New Look at Antebellum Southern Railroad Development\u201d by James A. Ward diverges, thereby making antebellum Southern railroads a significantly more interesting and dynamic topic. Ward’s argument takes into consideration the historiographical state of the field. He explains the majority of writings have \u201cdealt primarily with the failure of the southern roads to supply adequately the Confederate field armies,\u201d from which historians concluded that \u201cthe region’s rail transport was decided inferior to systems in other parts of the nation.\u201d^{[11]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> The argument is decidedly narrow, Ward retorts. The South actually \u201cpioneered large-scale railroading in the United States\u201d during the 1830s, yet somehow \u201cemerged three decades later substandard by comparison with other regions.\u201d[12]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> By undermining widely accepted views, this article punctuates the historiographical discussion of antebellum Southern railroads with a resounding question mark. The inconclusive ending only heightens the importance of further historical work on the subject.<\/p>\n}

^{[1]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Aaron W. Marrs, Railroads in the Old South: Pursuing Progress in a Slave Society<\/em> (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009), 12.<\/p>\n}

^{[2]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Marrs, 31.<\/p>\n}

^{[3]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Marrs, 55.<\/p>\n}

^{[4]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Marrs, 164.<\/p>\n}

^{[5]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Tom Downey, \u201cThe Great Avenue of Intercourse and Common Channel of Commerce,\u201d in Planting a Capitalist South: Masters, Merchants and Manufacturers in the Southern Interior, 1790 \u2013 1860<\/em>. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2006), 93.<\/p>\n}

^{[6]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Downey, 98-9.<\/p>\n}

^{[7]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Downey, 93, 102.<\/p>\n}

^{[8]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Downey, 94.<\/p>\n}

^{[9]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> William L. Ketchersid, \u201cMajor Cambell Wallace: Southern Railroad Leader.\u201d Tennessee Historical Quarterly <\/em>67 (2008): 92.<\/p>\n}

^{[10]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Ketchersid, 92.<\/p>\n}

^{[11]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> James A. Ward, \u201cA New Look at Antebellum Southern Railroad Development.\u201d The Journal of Southern History<\/em> 39 (1973): 409.<\/p>\n}

^{[12]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Ward, 410.<\/p>\n}

Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marrs, Aaron W. Railroads in the Old South: Pursuing Progress in a Slave Society<\/em>. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009.<\/p>\n

Downey, Tom. \u201cThe Great Avenue of Intercourse and Common Channel of Commerce.\u201d In Planting a Capitalist South: Masters, Merchants and Manufacturers in the Southern Interior, 1790 \u2013 1860<\/em>, 92-116. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2006.<\/p>\n

Ketchersid, William L. \u201cMajor Cambell Wallace: Southern Railroad Leader.\u201d Tennessee <\/em>Historical Quarterly<\/em> 67 (2008): 90-105.<\/p>\n

Ward, James A. \u201cA New Look at Antebellum Southern Railroad Development.\u201d The Journal of Southern History<\/em> 39 (1973): 409-420.<\/p>\n

<\/a>  <\/a>  <\/a>  <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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