Author: Allen W. Trelease
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 146964424X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 503
Book Description
In telling the story of the North Carolina Railroad's independent years (1849-71), Trelease covers all aspects of the company and its development, including its construction and rolling stock; its management, labor force, and labor policies; its passenger and freight operations; and its role in the Civil War. He also assesses the impact of the railroad on the economic and social development of North Carolina. Originally published in 1991. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
The North Carolina Railroad, 1849-1871, and the Modernization of North Carolina
Author: Allen W. Trelease
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 146964424X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 503
Book Description
In telling the story of the North Carolina Railroad's independent years (1849-71), Trelease covers all aspects of the company and its development, including its construction and rolling stock; its management, labor force, and labor policies; its passenger and freight operations; and its role in the Civil War. He also assesses the impact of the railroad on the economic and social development of North Carolina. Originally published in 1991. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 146964424X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 503
Book Description
In telling the story of the North Carolina Railroad's independent years (1849-71), Trelease covers all aspects of the company and its development, including its construction and rolling stock; its management, labor force, and labor policies; its passenger and freight operations; and its role in the Civil War. He also assesses the impact of the railroad on the economic and social development of North Carolina. Originally published in 1991. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
The Farmer's Age
Author: Paul W. Gates
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315496631
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 486
Book Description
Part of a series of detailed reference manuals on American economic history, this volume examines the aspects and problems of land policies and the growth in farming during the mid-1800s.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315496631
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 486
Book Description
Part of a series of detailed reference manuals on American economic history, this volume examines the aspects and problems of land policies and the growth in farming during the mid-1800s.
Virginia's Western Visions
Author: Leslie Scott Philyaw
Publisher: Univ. of Tennessee Press
ISBN: 9781572333079
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 216
Book Description
"Once all the world was Virginia"--an exaggerated truism to be sure, but in the early eighteenth century, there seemed no limit on the Old Dominion's possibility for growth, particularly in the eyes of the state's Tidewater elite. Wealthy tobacco barons monopolized thousands of acres along Virginia's frontier, and early leadership, including William Byrd, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington, saw the generous possibilities in the expanse of lands to their west. In 1705 Virginia planter and historian Robert Beverly confidently foresaw the day when Virginia's settlements would reach "the California Sea." In Virginia's Western Visions, L. Scott Philyaw examines the often tumultuous history of Virginia's westward expansion. Land, the foundation to tobacco cultivation and slavery, obsessed early Virginians. Land acquisition was also a necessary step in dispossessing Virginia's native inhabitants, replacing them with Europeans and Africans. The relationship between Virginia's Tidewater elite and the hinterland was never simple, however. The backcountry's economic potential was undeniable, as was the possibility for colonization; but elites feared the threat of Native American nations, and the western border was consistently a source of unrest. For many English colonists, the inland wilderness was terrifying, and Philyaw argues that attitudes toward the different peoples of the frontier--Native Americans, French Catholic villagers, and German and Ulster-Scot immigrants--shed light on the cultural and ethnic assumptions of the architects of the American republic. By the early nineteenth century, the optimism of the Revolutionary generation had faded. New western states competed with Virginia for markets, settlers, and investments, and wealthy planters began abandoning the Old Dominion, taking their portable slave wealth with them. As the War of Independence came to an end, an independent Virginia actually began losing territory; the war-weary and impoverished state could no longer control the western lands its leadership had worked so tirelessly to acquire. Leaders now turned to the new national government to accomplish their aims of creating a series of western states that would share Virginia's interests. They failed, and in the antebellum era Virginia's elite more often allied with states to the south rather than those that were once part of the Old Dominion. From the earliest settlement of the area, Virginians wrestled with both the political and cultural meaning of "Virginia." By examining the changing attitudes toward the early West, Virginia's Western Visions offers a fascinating glimpse into the dreams of the Old Dominion's early leaders, the challenges that faced them, and their vision for Virginia's future. L. Scott Philyaw is associate professor of history at Western Carolina University. He is a contributor to After the Backcountry: Rural Life in the Great Valley of Virginia, 1800-1900, and his articles and reviews have appeared in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, the Journal of the Early Republic, and others.
Publisher: Univ. of Tennessee Press
ISBN: 9781572333079
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 216
Book Description
"Once all the world was Virginia"--an exaggerated truism to be sure, but in the early eighteenth century, there seemed no limit on the Old Dominion's possibility for growth, particularly in the eyes of the state's Tidewater elite. Wealthy tobacco barons monopolized thousands of acres along Virginia's frontier, and early leadership, including William Byrd, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington, saw the generous possibilities in the expanse of lands to their west. In 1705 Virginia planter and historian Robert Beverly confidently foresaw the day when Virginia's settlements would reach "the California Sea." In Virginia's Western Visions, L. Scott Philyaw examines the often tumultuous history of Virginia's westward expansion. Land, the foundation to tobacco cultivation and slavery, obsessed early Virginians. Land acquisition was also a necessary step in dispossessing Virginia's native inhabitants, replacing them with Europeans and Africans. The relationship between Virginia's Tidewater elite and the hinterland was never simple, however. The backcountry's economic potential was undeniable, as was the possibility for colonization; but elites feared the threat of Native American nations, and the western border was consistently a source of unrest. For many English colonists, the inland wilderness was terrifying, and Philyaw argues that attitudes toward the different peoples of the frontier--Native Americans, French Catholic villagers, and German and Ulster-Scot immigrants--shed light on the cultural and ethnic assumptions of the architects of the American republic. By the early nineteenth century, the optimism of the Revolutionary generation had faded. New western states competed with Virginia for markets, settlers, and investments, and wealthy planters began abandoning the Old Dominion, taking their portable slave wealth with them. As the War of Independence came to an end, an independent Virginia actually began losing territory; the war-weary and impoverished state could no longer control the western lands its leadership had worked so tirelessly to acquire. Leaders now turned to the new national government to accomplish their aims of creating a series of western states that would share Virginia's interests. They failed, and in the antebellum era Virginia's elite more often allied with states to the south rather than those that were once part of the Old Dominion. From the earliest settlement of the area, Virginians wrestled with both the political and cultural meaning of "Virginia." By examining the changing attitudes toward the early West, Virginia's Western Visions offers a fascinating glimpse into the dreams of the Old Dominion's early leaders, the challenges that faced them, and their vision for Virginia's future. L. Scott Philyaw is associate professor of history at Western Carolina University. He is a contributor to After the Backcountry: Rural Life in the Great Valley of Virginia, 1800-1900, and his articles and reviews have appeared in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, the Journal of the Early Republic, and others.
Institutional Slavery
Author: Jennifer Oast
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316495450
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 277
Book Description
The traditional image of slavery begins with a master and a slave. However, not all slaves had traditional masters; some were owned instead by institutions, such as church congregations, schools, colleges, and businesses. This practice was pervasive in early Virginia; its educational, religious, and philanthropic institutions were literally built on the backs of slaves. Virginia's first industrial economy was also developed with the skilled labor of African American slaves. This book focuses on institutional slavery in Virginia as it was practiced by the Anglican and Presbyterian churches, free schools, and four universities: the College of William and Mary, Hampden-Sydney College, the University of Virginia, and Hollins College. It also examines the use of slave labor by businesses and the Commonwealth of Virginia in industrial endeavors. This is not only an account of how institutions used slavery to further their missions, but also of the slaves who belonged to institutions.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316495450
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 277
Book Description
The traditional image of slavery begins with a master and a slave. However, not all slaves had traditional masters; some were owned instead by institutions, such as church congregations, schools, colleges, and businesses. This practice was pervasive in early Virginia; its educational, religious, and philanthropic institutions were literally built on the backs of slaves. Virginia's first industrial economy was also developed with the skilled labor of African American slaves. This book focuses on institutional slavery in Virginia as it was practiced by the Anglican and Presbyterian churches, free schools, and four universities: the College of William and Mary, Hampden-Sydney College, the University of Virginia, and Hollins College. It also examines the use of slave labor by businesses and the Commonwealth of Virginia in industrial endeavors. This is not only an account of how institutions used slavery to further their missions, but also of the slaves who belonged to institutions.
The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture
Author: Melissa Walker
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469616688
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 373
Book Description
Volume 11 of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture examines the economic culture of the South by pairing two categories that account for the ways many southerners have made their living. In the antebellum period, the wealth of southern whites came largely from agriculture that relied on the forced labor of enslaved blacks. After Reconstruction, the South became attractive to new industries lured by the region's ongoing commitment to low-wage labor and management-friendly economic policies. Throughout the volume, articles reflect the breadth and variety of southern life, paying particular attention to the region's profound economic transformation in recent decades. The agricultural section consists of 25 thematic entries that explore issues such as Native American agricultural practices, plantations, and sustainable agriculture. Thirty-eight shorter pieces cover key crops of the region--from tobacco to Christmas trees--as well as issues of historic and emerging interest--from insects and insecticides to migrant labor. The section on industry and commerce contains 13 thematic entries in which contributors address topics such as the economic impact of military bases, resistance to industrialization, and black business. Thirty-six topical entries explore particular industries, such as textiles, timber, automobiles, and banking, as well as individuals--including Henry W. Grady and Sam M. Walton--whose ideas and enterprises have helped shape the modern South.
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469616688
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 373
Book Description
Volume 11 of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture examines the economic culture of the South by pairing two categories that account for the ways many southerners have made their living. In the antebellum period, the wealth of southern whites came largely from agriculture that relied on the forced labor of enslaved blacks. After Reconstruction, the South became attractive to new industries lured by the region's ongoing commitment to low-wage labor and management-friendly economic policies. Throughout the volume, articles reflect the breadth and variety of southern life, paying particular attention to the region's profound economic transformation in recent decades. The agricultural section consists of 25 thematic entries that explore issues such as Native American agricultural practices, plantations, and sustainable agriculture. Thirty-eight shorter pieces cover key crops of the region--from tobacco to Christmas trees--as well as issues of historic and emerging interest--from insects and insecticides to migrant labor. The section on industry and commerce contains 13 thematic entries in which contributors address topics such as the economic impact of military bases, resistance to industrialization, and black business. Thirty-six topical entries explore particular industries, such as textiles, timber, automobiles, and banking, as well as individuals--including Henry W. Grady and Sam M. Walton--whose ideas and enterprises have helped shape the modern South.
Tobacco Culture
Author: T. H. Breen
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691089140
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 246
Book Description
The great Tidewater planters of mid-eighteenth-century Virginia were fathers of the American Revolution. Perhaps first and foremost, they were also anxious tobacco farmers, harried by a demanding planting cycle, trans-Atlantic shipping risks, and their uneasy relations with English agents. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and their contemporaries lived in a world that was dominated by questions of debt from across an ocean but also one that stressed personal autonomy. T. H. Breen's study of this tobacco culture focuses on how elite planters gave meaning to existence. He examines the value-laden relationships--found in both the fields and marketplaces--that led from tobacco to politics, from agrarian experience to political protest, and finally to a break with the political and economic system that they believed threatened both personal independence and honor.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691089140
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 246
Book Description
The great Tidewater planters of mid-eighteenth-century Virginia were fathers of the American Revolution. Perhaps first and foremost, they were also anxious tobacco farmers, harried by a demanding planting cycle, trans-Atlantic shipping risks, and their uneasy relations with English agents. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and their contemporaries lived in a world that was dominated by questions of debt from across an ocean but also one that stressed personal autonomy. T. H. Breen's study of this tobacco culture focuses on how elite planters gave meaning to existence. He examines the value-laden relationships--found in both the fields and marketplaces--that led from tobacco to politics, from agrarian experience to political protest, and finally to a break with the political and economic system that they believed threatened both personal independence and honor.
Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series
Author: Library of Congress. Copyright Office
Publisher: Copyright Office, Library of Congress
ISBN:
Category : Copyright
Languages : en
Pages : 1216
Book Description
Publisher: Copyright Office, Library of Congress
ISBN:
Category : Copyright
Languages : en
Pages : 1216
Book Description
The Panic of 1857 and the Coming of the Civil War
Author: James L. Huston
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807153583
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
In the autumn of 1857, sustained runs on New York banks led to a panic atmosphere that affected the American economy for the next two years. In The Panic of 1857 and the Coming of the Civil War, James L. Huston presents an exhaustive analysis of the political, social and intellectual repercussions of the Panic and shows how it exacerbated the conflict between North and South. The panic of 1857 initiated a general inquiry between free traders and protectionists into the deficiencies of American economic practices. A key aspect of this debate was the ultimate fate of the American worker, an issue that was given added emphasis by a series of labor demonstrations and strikes. In an attempt to maintain the material welfare of laborers, northerners advocated a program of high tariffs, free western lands, and education. But these proposals elicited the opposition of southerners, who believed that such policies would not serve the needs of the slaves system. Indeed, many people of the period saw the struggle between North and South as an economic one whose outcome would determine whether laborers would be free and well paid or degraded and poor. Politically, the Panic of 1857 resurrected economic issues that had characterized the Whig-Democratic party system prior to the 1850s. Southerners, observing the collapse of northern banks, believed that they could continue to govern the nation by convincing northern propertied interests that sectionalism had to be ended in order to ensure the continued profitability of intersectional trade. In short, they hoped for a marriage between the Yankee capitalist and the southern plantation owner. However, in northen states, the Panic had made the Whig program of high tariffs, a national bank, and internal improvements popular with distressed members of the community. The country's old-line Whigs and nativists were particularly affected by the state of economic affairs. When Republicans moved to adopt a portion of the old Whig program, conservatives found the attraction irresistible. By maintaining their new coalition with conservatives and by exploiting the weaknesses of the Buchanan administration, the Republicans managed to capture the presidency in 1860. No other book examines in such detail the political ramifications of the Panic of 1857. By explaining how the economic depression influenced the course of sectional debate, Huston has made an important and much-needed contribution to Civil War historiography.
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807153583
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
In the autumn of 1857, sustained runs on New York banks led to a panic atmosphere that affected the American economy for the next two years. In The Panic of 1857 and the Coming of the Civil War, James L. Huston presents an exhaustive analysis of the political, social and intellectual repercussions of the Panic and shows how it exacerbated the conflict between North and South. The panic of 1857 initiated a general inquiry between free traders and protectionists into the deficiencies of American economic practices. A key aspect of this debate was the ultimate fate of the American worker, an issue that was given added emphasis by a series of labor demonstrations and strikes. In an attempt to maintain the material welfare of laborers, northerners advocated a program of high tariffs, free western lands, and education. But these proposals elicited the opposition of southerners, who believed that such policies would not serve the needs of the slaves system. Indeed, many people of the period saw the struggle between North and South as an economic one whose outcome would determine whether laborers would be free and well paid or degraded and poor. Politically, the Panic of 1857 resurrected economic issues that had characterized the Whig-Democratic party system prior to the 1850s. Southerners, observing the collapse of northern banks, believed that they could continue to govern the nation by convincing northern propertied interests that sectionalism had to be ended in order to ensure the continued profitability of intersectional trade. In short, they hoped for a marriage between the Yankee capitalist and the southern plantation owner. However, in northen states, the Panic had made the Whig program of high tariffs, a national bank, and internal improvements popular with distressed members of the community. The country's old-line Whigs and nativists were particularly affected by the state of economic affairs. When Republicans moved to adopt a portion of the old Whig program, conservatives found the attraction irresistible. By maintaining their new coalition with conservatives and by exploiting the weaknesses of the Buchanan administration, the Republicans managed to capture the presidency in 1860. No other book examines in such detail the political ramifications of the Panic of 1857. By explaining how the economic depression influenced the course of sectional debate, Huston has made an important and much-needed contribution to Civil War historiography.
Artisan Workers in the Upper South
Author: Diane Barnes
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807154636
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 312
Book Description
Though deeply entrenched in antebellum life, the artisans who lived and worked in Petersburg, Virginia, in the 1800s -- including carpenters, blacksmiths, coach makers, bakers, and other skilled craftsmen -- helped transform their planter-centered agricultural community into one of the most industrialized cities in the Upper South. These mechanics, as the artisans called themselves, successfully lobbied for new railroad lines and other amenities they needed to open their factories and shops, and turned a town whose livelihood once depended almost entirely on tobacco exports into a bustling modern city. In Artisan Workers in the Upper South, L. Diane Barnes closely examines the relationships between Petersburg's skilled white, free black, and slave mechanics and the roles they played in southern Virginia's emerging market economy. Barnes demonstrates that, despite studies that emphasize the backwardness of southern development, modern industry and the institution of slavery proved quite compatible in the Upper South. Petersburg joined the industrialized world in part because of the town's proximity to northern cities and resources, but it succeeded because its citizens capitalized on their uniquely southern resource: slaves. Petersburg artisans realized quickly that owning slaves could increase the profitability of their businesses, and these artisans -- including some free African Americans -- entered the master class when they could. Slave-owning mechanics, both white and black, gained wealth and status in society, and they soon joined an emerging middle class. Not all mechanics could afford slaves, however, and those who could not struggled to survive in the new economy. Forced to work as journeymen and face the unpleasant reality of permanent wage labor, the poorer mechanics often resented their inability to prosper like their fellow artisans. These differing levels of success, Barnes shows, created a sharp class divide that rivaled the racial divide in the artisan community. Unlike their northern counterparts, who united as a political force and organized strikes to effect change, artisans in the Upper South did not rise up in protest against the prevailing social order. Skilled white mechanics championed free manual labor -- a common refrain of northern artisans -- but they carefully limited the term "free" to whites and simultaneously sought alliances with slaveholding planters. Even those artisans who didn't own slaves, Barnes explains, rarely criticized the wealthy planters, who not only employed and traded with artisans, but also controlled both state and local politics. Planters, too, guarded against disparaging free labor too loudly, and their silence, together with that of the mechanics, helped maintain the precariously balanced social structure. Artisan Workers in the Upper South rejects the notion of the antebellum South as a semifeudal planter-centered political economy and provides abundant evidence that some areas of the South embraced industrial capitalism and economic modernity as readily as communities in the North.
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807154636
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 312
Book Description
Though deeply entrenched in antebellum life, the artisans who lived and worked in Petersburg, Virginia, in the 1800s -- including carpenters, blacksmiths, coach makers, bakers, and other skilled craftsmen -- helped transform their planter-centered agricultural community into one of the most industrialized cities in the Upper South. These mechanics, as the artisans called themselves, successfully lobbied for new railroad lines and other amenities they needed to open their factories and shops, and turned a town whose livelihood once depended almost entirely on tobacco exports into a bustling modern city. In Artisan Workers in the Upper South, L. Diane Barnes closely examines the relationships between Petersburg's skilled white, free black, and slave mechanics and the roles they played in southern Virginia's emerging market economy. Barnes demonstrates that, despite studies that emphasize the backwardness of southern development, modern industry and the institution of slavery proved quite compatible in the Upper South. Petersburg joined the industrialized world in part because of the town's proximity to northern cities and resources, but it succeeded because its citizens capitalized on their uniquely southern resource: slaves. Petersburg artisans realized quickly that owning slaves could increase the profitability of their businesses, and these artisans -- including some free African Americans -- entered the master class when they could. Slave-owning mechanics, both white and black, gained wealth and status in society, and they soon joined an emerging middle class. Not all mechanics could afford slaves, however, and those who could not struggled to survive in the new economy. Forced to work as journeymen and face the unpleasant reality of permanent wage labor, the poorer mechanics often resented their inability to prosper like their fellow artisans. These differing levels of success, Barnes shows, created a sharp class divide that rivaled the racial divide in the artisan community. Unlike their northern counterparts, who united as a political force and organized strikes to effect change, artisans in the Upper South did not rise up in protest against the prevailing social order. Skilled white mechanics championed free manual labor -- a common refrain of northern artisans -- but they carefully limited the term "free" to whites and simultaneously sought alliances with slaveholding planters. Even those artisans who didn't own slaves, Barnes explains, rarely criticized the wealthy planters, who not only employed and traded with artisans, but also controlled both state and local politics. Planters, too, guarded against disparaging free labor too loudly, and their silence, together with that of the mechanics, helped maintain the precariously balanced social structure. Artisan Workers in the Upper South rejects the notion of the antebellum South as a semifeudal planter-centered political economy and provides abundant evidence that some areas of the South embraced industrial capitalism and economic modernity as readily as communities in the North.
American Pests
Author: James E. McWilliams
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231511361
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 309
Book Description
The world of insects is one we only dimly understand. Yet from using arsenic, cobalt, and quicksilver to kill household infiltrators to employing the sophisticated tools of the Orkin Man, Americans have fought to eradicate the "bugs" they have learned to hate. Inspired by the still-revolutionary theories of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, James E. McWilliams argues for a more harmonious and rational approach to our relationship with insects, one that does not harm our environment and, consequently, ourselves along the way. Beginning with the early techniques of colonial farmers and ending with the modern use of chemical insecticides, McWilliams deftly shows how America's war on insects mirrors its continual struggle with nature, economic development, technology, and federal regulation. He reveals a very American paradox: the men and women who settled and developed this country sought to control the environment and achieve certain economic goals; yet their methods of agricultural expansion undermined their efforts and linked them even closer to the inexorable realities of the insect world. As told from the perspective of the often flamboyant actors in the battle against insects, American Pests is a fascinating investigation into the attitudes, policies, and practices that continue to influence our behavior toward insects. Asking us to question, if not abandon, our reckless (and sometimes futile) attempts at insect control, McWilliams convincingly argues that insects, like people, have an inherent right to exist and that in our attempt to rid ourselves of insects, we compromise the balance of nature.
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231511361
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 309
Book Description
The world of insects is one we only dimly understand. Yet from using arsenic, cobalt, and quicksilver to kill household infiltrators to employing the sophisticated tools of the Orkin Man, Americans have fought to eradicate the "bugs" they have learned to hate. Inspired by the still-revolutionary theories of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, James E. McWilliams argues for a more harmonious and rational approach to our relationship with insects, one that does not harm our environment and, consequently, ourselves along the way. Beginning with the early techniques of colonial farmers and ending with the modern use of chemical insecticides, McWilliams deftly shows how America's war on insects mirrors its continual struggle with nature, economic development, technology, and federal regulation. He reveals a very American paradox: the men and women who settled and developed this country sought to control the environment and achieve certain economic goals; yet their methods of agricultural expansion undermined their efforts and linked them even closer to the inexorable realities of the insect world. As told from the perspective of the often flamboyant actors in the battle against insects, American Pests is a fascinating investigation into the attitudes, policies, and practices that continue to influence our behavior toward insects. Asking us to question, if not abandon, our reckless (and sometimes futile) attempts at insect control, McWilliams convincingly argues that insects, like people, have an inherent right to exist and that in our attempt to rid ourselves of insects, we compromise the balance of nature.