The Business of Civil War: Military Mobilization and the State, 1861-1865 - Paperback

by Mark R. Wilson (Author)

This wide-ranging, original account of the politics and economics of the giant military supply project in the North reconstructs an important but little-known part of Civil War history. Drawing on new and extensive research in army and business archives, Mark R. Wilson offers a fresh view of the wartime North and the ways in which its economy worked when the Lincoln administration, with unprecedented military effort, moved to suppress the rebellion. This task of equipping and sustaining Union forces fell to career army procurement officers. Largely free from political partisanship or any formal free-market ideology, they created a mixed military economy with a complex contracting system that they pieced together to meet the experience of civil war. Wilson argues that the North owed its victory to these professional military men and their finely tuned relationships with contractors, public officials, and war workers. Wilson also examines the obstacles military bureaucrats faced, many of which illuminated basic problems of modern political economy: the balance between efficiency and equity, the promotion of competition, and the protection of workers' welfare. The struggle over these problems determined the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars; it also redirected American political and economic development by forcing citizens to grapple with difficult questions about the proper relationships among government, business, and labor. Students of the American Civil War will welcome this fresh study of military-industrial production and procurement on the home front-long an obscure topic.

Front Jacket

This wide-ranging account of the giant military-supply system the North developed after 1861 reconstructs an important but little-known part of Civil War history. In his study of army politics, production, and procurement, Mark R. Wilson offers a fresh view of the wartime North and the ways in which its economy worked.

A fascinating account of how the North marshaled its economic might to win the Civil War.--Journal of Economic History

Anyone interested in the antebellum army, the Civil War, or the role of the military in the American political economy will find this book worthwhile.--Journal of Military History

An outstanding contribution to our understanding of the military's role in society, politics, and the economy during the nineteenth century.--Technology and Culture

Wilson provides an excellent treatment of the constantly evolving financial and manufacturing infrastructure that supported United States armies during the Civil War.--The Historian

An excellent contribution to the general understanding of Union military institutions.--American Historical Review

A compelling account of the political economy of Northern mobilization.--Enterprise and Society

Mark R. Wilson is an associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Back Jacket

This wide-ranging account of the giant military-supply system the North developed after 1861 reconstructs an important but little-known part of Civil War history. In his study of army politics, production, and procurement, Mark R. Wilson offers a fresh view of the wartime North and the ways in which its economy worked.

"A fascinating account of how the North marshaled its economic might to win the Civil War."--Journal of Economic History

"Anyone interested in the antebellum army, the Civil War, or the role of the military in the American political economy will find this book worthwhile."--Journal of Military History

"An outstanding contribution to our understanding of the military's role in society, politics, and the economy during the nineteenth century."--Technology and Culture

"Wilson provides an excellent treatment of the constantly evolving financial and manufacturing infrastructure that supported United States armies during the Civil War."--The Historian

"An excellent contribution to the general understanding of Union military institutions."--American Historical Review

"A compelling account of the political economy of Northern mobilization."--Enterprise and Society

Mark R. Wilson is an associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Author Biography

Mark R. Wilson is an associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.