Representation and Taxation in the American South, 1820–1910

We analyze state-level fiscal developments in American Southern states from 1820–1910, focusing on progressive property taxes borne primarily by economic elites. We show that the economic interests of these rural elites and their formal representation played a critical role in shaping the observed fiscal patterns.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 102 pages
Publication date: 22 February 2024
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

From 1820 to 1910, American Southern states experienced significant fiscal developments, with a primary focus on progressive property taxes. This study examines the fiscal patterns of fourteen states in the region, highlighting the economic exploitation of enslaved and later politically repressed African-descended populations by a small rural elite. Despite the perception of rural elites' resistance to taxation, the analysis offers a set of conditions that explain the emergence of progressive taxation and provides a coherent account of these states' fiscal development.

Using an original, archival data set of annual tax revenues and select expenditure items, the study demonstrates that the economic interests of these rural elites and their formal (over)representation played a critical role in shaping the observed fiscal patterns within and across these states over this period. The findings shed light on the complex interplay between economic power, political representation, and fiscal policy in the American South.

This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core, allowing scholars and researchers worldwide to access and contribute to the study of Southern fiscal development.

Weight: 161g
ISBN-13: 9781009114080