Doctoral Dissertation Research: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Economic Status of Free Blacks, 1850-1860

Ohio State University Research Foundation -Do Not Use, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

This project begins to fill a puzzling gap in the scientific literature by undertaking a comparative study of wealth accumulation patterns of black and of white households, as can be learned from the manuscript schedules of population for 1850 and 1860. To better identify undercurrent of movement and their possible explanations, a longitudinal dataset is being compiled that links samples of Mid-Atlantic households recorded in the US census manuscript schedules. Modern statistical methods will be used to estimate models of socioeconomic differences in wealth ownership and wealth mobility. The research findings will be valuable to: (1) economists who seek to understand historical aspects of wealth inequality; (2) social scientists analyzing the relationship between socioeconomic differences and social outcomes; and (3) policy makers who want to address socioeconomic differences in wealth accumulation patterns.