Ben Waber reviewed Plantation Goods by Seth Rockman
An Impressive, Qualitative History
5 stars
This book is a triumph of scholarship, providing a rigorously researched view into some of the businesses and individuals that drove the production and sale of products that supported American slavery. This is a qualitative examination, with insightful philosophical analysis added in for good measure. As with many books in this vein I would've loved a quantitative, macro perspective of the issues reviewed here to add further weight and support to many of the claims made here, but Rockman's thorough research overall makes this less necessary than in other cases.
What was most eye-opening for me was the modern management techniques of these firms, even engaging in market research for their products by talking to enslaved people. Beyond further demonstrating the inextricable dependence of Northern industrialization and economic development on slavery, it also shows how modern management itself is still tied to that history. Highly recommend
This book is a triumph of scholarship, providing a rigorously researched view into some of the businesses and individuals that drove the production and sale of products that supported American slavery. This is a qualitative examination, with insightful philosophical analysis added in for good measure. As with many books in this vein I would've loved a quantitative, macro perspective of the issues reviewed here to add further weight and support to many of the claims made here, but Rockman's thorough research overall makes this less necessary than in other cases.
What was most eye-opening for me was the modern management techniques of these firms, even engaging in market research for their products by talking to enslaved people. Beyond further demonstrating the inextricable dependence of Northern industrialization and economic development on slavery, it also shows how modern management itself is still tied to that history. Highly recommend