History of American Business: A Baruch College Blog

Property and Mandell’s Wealth and Power in the Early Republic

Global history can be described as a story of perpetual problems faced by humans throughout time, and their response to them. Whether it be the problem of greed for power and control resulting in many of the atrocities seen throughout the past few centuries, or the unequal distribution of property resulting in a quasi aristocracy formed on the basis of wealth; humans have thought extensively about such problems and responded with their own proposed solution. This theme is exactly what Mandell’s Wealth and Power in the Early Republic describes. After fighting for independence from colonial rule, colonists began to develop their own government that suits their interests. However, as is the theme in history, several conflicting views emerged about taxation, egalitarianism, wealth, and property.

Despite property being enshrined as a natural right by enlightenment philosophers like Locke, colonists argued over property limits and distribution. As described by Johann Schoepf, an emerging aristocracy had begun to form among colonists based on wealth and material attainments as opposed to the hereditary system seen in Britain(Mandell 79). Colonists who managed to gain wealth were able to “work the levers of power” and acted similarly to nobility seen in countries around the world(Mandell 79). This began to alarm the recently freed colonists and as a push back, proposed progressive taxation and a wealth limit to combat what they feared was an arising wealth based noble class. Prominent writers like Jacob Green started to chime in and equate property with freedom(Mandell 81). These views on property conflict with the prevalent narrative of unity behind a meritocratic society in even early America, and learning about these split thoughts on regulation of a natural right surprised me. Although I knew conflict regarding natural rights and others occurred, I did not expect that views on property were so split and divisive.

Mandell provides statements from multiple writers in early America that view property as far more significant than just wealth. David Daggert describes property as a means to prevent “oppression” and “slavery”(Mandell 83). While others like John Adams desired a natural or propertied aristocracy to govern the land(Mandell 83). These two thinkers, despite both valuing property ownership, have two very different reasons or ideas for its usage. One seeks for widespread property ownership to protect liberty, while the other views it as a means to determine who will lead the American populace. 

Newly independent Americans argued over many things, property being one of them. Throughout history, property rights and distribution has been a problem many thinkers proposed solutions for, but has continued to be a problem even in modern day America. Mandell’s text provides evidence of the chaotic period early America faced and represents, in part, the story of global history.

Accounting For Slavery (Masters and Management) by Caitlin Rosenthal is an in-depth look at a slave plantation in the West Indies. The plantation’s primary purpose was to grow, harvest and distribute sugar cane. What is amazing is the insight of the detailed records of all the slaves, livestock, equipment, and all employees. Tellingly, the records let you know how inferior the slaves were their records were labeled the same as the animals.  The author writes that the plantations considered slaves as capital and labor lost- as diminished inventory. This subtle statement shows the inhumanity of the institution of slavery.

The losses were large and enslaved people died at an alarming rate.  I found it insightful that death in slavery did not begin with the middle passage and end on the plantation. The author indicated that enslaved slaved people died at all stages of the Atlantic Labor supply.  (Page 12) In Africa, 10 percent died in capture. While in Africa 25 percent died in the march to the coast. Still more died in port towns awaiting to be sent to America, South America, and the Caribbean. Another 2 million slaves died on the journey to America and once there heavy labor, diseases, killed more.  This is ironic because the slave owners needed the slaves to live to make money but so many died in the process.

Another interesting point was the massive operation it took to harvest sugar cane. It involved so many moving parts that must be coordinated in an orderly process. (Page 16) The author stated Sugar production was time-sensitive, particularly between the cutting of the cane and the boiling of the juice. Coordinating these activities for maximum output required the mill to be near the cane fields.

The key to the running of the sugar cane fields was the chain of command. First, it started with the absentee owner, followed by the attorney, then the overseer, and a host of enslaved managers.  The whites were such a minority on these plantations and they used the enslaved managers to help control the masses. The author indicated the major method of controlling the slaves was violence.  It was to create fear so that the slaves would not revolt or run away. Even the use of such cruel tactics did not totally stop revolts.  There were flare-ups but never enough to rid themselves of the slave masters.  There were even pockets of resistance that the British government allowed them to exist as long as they fought against the other revolts.

In conclusion, I found this chapter was a matter fact look at slavery on the Caribbean island.  It is so different when compared to the type of slavery in America.  In America, there were little or few absentee owners and it seemed that the American form of slavery was harsher because the owner was present. As far as the administration and running of the plantation not much difference between the two. Accounting For Slavery (Masters and Management) by Caitlin Rosenthal was an interesting look into the cold business of slavery. She exposed all phases and even raised questions like why wasn’t there more slave revolts considering the white population. This shows the power of fear and how it can be used to control people.

In Rosenthal’s Reading, she was trying to tell the readers that slaveholders were among the wealthiest businesspeople of their time. The fact is that it was not a surprise. Slaveholders have used plantation slavery as highly profitable and even innovative for the emergencies of the modern economy. At the beginning of the reading, Rosenthal was giving the reader an example of a plantation journal that was written by Thomas Peyre a Plantation slaveholder. In the journal, Mr. Peyre keeps a record of data and numerical analysis of his increased output and profit from his experiment on slave labor. They use this journal keeping to keep track of their business. Due to the high profit or progress of innovation, the extensive records also report that it reflects their experimental and often brutal management practices.

Before reading Rosenthals book, I have a feeling that slaveholders were great at doing business that’s why they were so wealthy and owned big plantations. But I didn’t know that they had kept an extensive journal report about their business data. Even though we know now that using humans as free laborer is wrong, during that time the slaveholders saw a big profit in owning slavery. In a sense, they were using slaves as working machines to make their profit. Their way of operating their business has so many flaws, which over time has taught the future generation what not to do in a business. For example brutal management practices and using humans as an experiment for business profit. The recorded journal has helped reconstruct the management practices of American and West Indian slaveholders from the late 18th century through the American Civil War. The journal from Mr. Peyre also proves how bad management and violence went hand in hand.  History has taught us so many wrongdoings to show future generations what not to repeat in the future.

The reading from Mandell presented that the New World and the Americans of the 18th century had already transformed into such a capitalistic state. Its good when a society is able to handle itself economically, socially, and politically, but the travesty is when the people fight amongst themselves.  Amongst the people, fear and passion were widely spotted from ,”the specter of public debt speculation,” and “the popular passions over the French Revolution, and the emergence of warring political party.”(Mandell, 80) The New World has already fallen to a land tainted by capitalism, while it brought it profits, innovations, and progress, it is also cursed with the over impeding internal struggles and growing economy. After having gotten their independence from the mother country, America was now its own nation, after years of wars and prejudice, but how to distribute wealth and power, was a beast of its own kind.

Americans then have to compete with each other for social statuses, from following the prejudice of their former parent country, America has shown signs of aristocracy, they became their enemy, a nark. America has already showed signs of diffusion, the North and the South. While the North still abuse the power of enslaved laborers, the South has already showed signs of succession. Those who used slaves, typically make the most capital from the rest of the population, that somehow created a title for themselves. The South was not like that, but the North seems to be insistent about continuing slavery as a business. Furthermore, slavery and capital became a cornerstone and decisive precursor to who had actual power, voice, and votes. For the so called land of the Free, slavery was continuing, and not everyone was fairly represented due to the property ownership prerequisite for voting. Its almost as if separation of the colonies was inevitable and that they did not learn their lesson with their independence mission movement.

I found an interesting piece on the American slave trade on page 85 of Mandell’s reading. According to that page, while the slave trade was abolished early on in the northern part of the USA, it was retained in the south, and this conflict of ideas deepened the conflict between North and South America. I have wondered why the conflict deepened in this way. I will try to write down my prediction here.
As we learned in class, America began with the formation of the New England colonies. At first, New England colonies did trade between Europe and themselves. They traded fish and furs and made ships. In the mid-18th century, the Industrial Revolution began in England, and many industrial products made in England began to arrive. After a while, relations between Britain and the USA deteriorated, and in 1775 the American Revolutionary War began. After that, in 1789, the United States issued the Declaration of Independence and officially became independent, not relying on Britain, but using its own industries to meet its own needs. Northern America, which had always imported a lot of industrial goods, was able to make its own industrial goods relatively quickly. And when industrialisation meant that machines could do more work than people, the North no longer needed to use slaves. On the other hand, in the South, the main industry from the beginning of the New England colonies was the operation of sugar plantations by slaves. I expect the South to have been wealthier during the colonial period, as it was able to make a profit simply by exporting sugar made from slaves with low labour costs to Britain until the American Revolution. Hence, industrialisation was slower and without slaves, the plantations could not be run. This is why the North and the South had conflicting attitudes towards slaves, which may have led to the Civil War.
In this way, we can make various predictions about the American economy based on the differences in ideas about slaves. I thought it was very interesting that people’s ideas were directly reflected in the economy and politics.

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