Old Dominion, Industrial Commonwealth

"Adams's innovative study has opened up a new arena for investigation and, judging from the richness of his analysis, one with great potential."—Edward J. Davies, II, Journal of American History

"Adams makes good use of the available primary and secondary sources in support of his thesis."—Willard Carl Klunder, Historian

"Historians of many fields will want to take note."—Virginia Magazine of History and Biography

"Explaining the troubled present is not Adam's objective, but his book provides a powerful tool for doing just that."—Warren R. Hofstra, Common-Place

"As with any successful study, this one answers some questions and provokes others . . . One hopes that rather than this being the last word on the subject, it serves as a call for further investigation."—Andrew M. Schocket, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography

"An engaging and persuasive work that addresses in a highly accessible manner the intricacies of state-level politics and economic decision-making."—James Campbell, Journal of American Studies

"Thoroughly researched, attractively written, and nicely produced, with clear maps and useful data graphs."—Howell John Harris, History

"An impressive exemplar of comparative history. Adams is a gifted writer with an excellent eye for detail."—John Majewski, Enterprise and Society

"Profoundly powerful insights into the importance of political and economic institutions."—Robert E. Wright, Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"This is economic history as it should be written . . . Adams has created an important and highly readable interpretation of Virginia and Pennsylvania's economic history in the early and mid-1800s, and I commend him."—Paul Salstrom, West Virginia History

"Rooted in impressive scholarship in the archives, and with a sound knowledge and understanding of the secondary sources, it merits a wide readership."—Neville Kirk, Economic History Review

"Just when it looks as if good historical political economy might perish from the earth, along comes Sean Patrick Adams with a study of politics, coal, slavery, and industrialization that is so readable, so compelling, and so richly contextualized that even the most resistant cultural historians should find it immensely rewarding. This is the definitive account of how and why the coal trade developed as it did in Virginia and Pennsylvania. This is history—political, economic, and cultural history—at its finest."—John Lauritz Larson, Purdue University