Southern Scoundrels

Focusing on the underexplored aspects of capitalism in the South, the book delves into the lives of unscrupulous figures such as peddlers, preachers, and war profiteers who shaped the regional economy. Through engaging narrative storytelling, it covers the nineteenth-century South, including the antebellum period, Civil War, and Reconstruction, while examining diverse geographic areas like the Chesapeake and Texas. The essays provide social histories that reveal how these dubious characters influenced the capitalist transformation of the South, offering fresh insights into its economic history.