I teach and write about 19th-century U.S. history, with a emphasis on political economy. My work often analyzes a combination of statistical data and qualitative evidence to understand how people thought about wide-range of economic issues. Much of my work focuses on the slavery and the South, but I have done papers and chapters on the North as well, especially in regards to the rise of the corporation. One of my projects is looking at how differing attitudes towards education and economic creativity contributed to the coming of the Civil War.