... J O’Bryan George Carney Kate Kent Horace Murfreesboro Tenn antebellum South political economy merchant culture American south merchant families retail trade merchant-clerk relations debt credit This chapter explores how commerce distinguished southern merchant families and their culture...

...This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the merchant culture in the antebellum American South during the period from 1820 to 1865 and how it was affected by the American Civil War. This book describes the merchant culture and political economy of the Old South...

...This chapter describes the characteristics of the merchant family in the antebellum American South. It explains that the family was the center of southern merchant culture and the ties between husband and wife, parent and child, brother and sister provided the ultimate foundation for merchant...

...This concluding chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the merchant culture in the antebellum American South and how it was affected by the American Civil War. The results reveal the identities and roles that southern merchants adopted and played during this period. It explains what...