{"product_id":"the-greatest-nation-of-the-earth-republican-economic-policies-during-the-civil-war-harvard-historical-studies","title":"The Greatest Nation of the Earth: Republican Economic Policies during the Civil War (Harvard Historical Studies)","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhile fighting a war for the Union  the Republican party attempted to construct the worlds most powerful and most socially advanced nation. Rejecting the common assumption that wartime domestic legislation was a series of piecemeal reactions to wartime necessities  Heather Cox Richardson argues that party members systematically engineered pathbreaking laws to promote their distinctive theory of political economy.  Republicans were a dynamic  progressive party  the author shows  that championed a specific type of economic growth. They floated billions of dollars in bonds  developed a national currency and banking system  imposed income taxes and high tariffs  passed homestead legislation  launched the Union Pacific railroad  and eventually called for the end of slavery. Their aim was to encourage the economic success of individual Americans and to create a millennium for American farmers  laborers  and small capitalists.  However  Richardson demonstrates  while Republicans were trying to construct a nation of prosperous individuals  they were laying the foundation for rapid industrial expansion  corporate corruption  and popular protest. They created a newly active national government that they determined to use only to promote unregulated economic development. Unwittingly  they ushered in the Gilded Age.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44946980995125,"sku":"ByrdShop_0674362136","price":147.47,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780674362130.jpg?v=1769975869","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-greatest-nation-of-the-earth-republican-economic-policies-during-the-civil-war-harvard-historical-studies","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}