Property Rules: Political Economy in Chicago, 1833-1872

by Robin L. Einhorn

Overview

In Property Rules, Robin L. Einhorn uses City Council records-previously thought destroyed-and census data to track the course of city government in Chicago, providing an important reinterpretation of the relationship between political and social structures in the nineteenth-century American city.

A Choice "Outstanding Academic Book"
"[A] masterful study of policy-making in Chicago."—Choice

"[A] major contribution to urban and political history. . . . [A]n excellent book."—Jeffrey S. Adler, American Historical Review

"[A]n enlightening trip. . . . Einhorn's foray helps make sense out of the transition from Jacksonian to Gilded Age politics on the local level. . . . [She] has staked out new ground that others would do well to explore."—Arnold R. Hirsch, American Journal of Legal History

"A well-documented and informative classic on urban politics."—Daniel W. Kwong, Law Books in Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226194844
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	10/25/1991
Series:	Osiris Ser.
Edition description:	1
Pages:	314
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Robin L. Einhorn is professor of history at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of Property Rules: Political Economy in Chicago, 1833–1872, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Note on Document Citations
Preface, 2001
Preface
1. From the Banks of Healy's Slough
2. The Booster System
3. The Introduction of Segmentation
4. The Mechanics of Local Control
5. The Politics of Segmentation
6. The New Public Interest
Epilogue: The Great Fire and the New Public
Appendix 1- Citation of Poll Books and Election Returns
Appendix 2- Analysis of Census Data
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Chicago--before the Great Fire of 1871--grew from frontier village to commercial metropolis with extraordinary speed. Einhorn (history, UC Berkeley) reconstructs the details of decision-making and public finance and uses her analysis of Chicago's political economy to reinterpret urban political and social structures in 19th-century America. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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