Bookshelf: Maine (Chapter 12)

 

 

 

 

 

     

Maine: The Pine Tree State from Prehistory to the Present (Judd, Churchill, and Eastman)

Chapter 12: Creating Maine's Resource Economy, 1783-1861

Drs. Lawrence C. Allin and Richard W. Judd focus on the "backbone of the state's economy" in the 19th century (e.g., clay, granite, ice, lime, lumber, and produce) and document the resource-based economy's growth, decline, and adaptation.

According to Allin and Judd, these industries were initially marked by low capital requirements, unmechanized labor, outdoor labor, and unpredictable and volatile markets. Another characteristic shared by each industry after the Civil War was the tradeoff of capital for industrialization and the state's "independence and its republican values."