Southern Industrialization Project

Sixth annual conference

6th Annual Conference
University of Missouri-St. Louis
May 31st-June 1st, 2002

The Southern Industrialization Project (SIP) seeks to foster a greater understanding of the history and culture of industrialization in the American South. SIP primarily consists of a discussion list of more than 100 academic and public historians with research interests that encompass many industries, eras, and geographic locations. Each year we meet to hear scholarly papers and to propose methods for promoting research in Southern industrial history. You may subscribe to the SIP discussion list by sending your name and email address to SIP moderator, Michael Gagnon, at gagnonm@wpunj.edu.

This year our annual meeting is proudly sponsored by the St. Louis Mercantile Library, the University of Missouri-St. Louis History Department, and the UMSL Public Policy Research Center. All Sessions will take place in Room C of USML's Millennium Center, which is a short walk from the North Campus Metrolink stop.

Conference Schedule

 

Friday, May 31

  • 9:30-11:30: Textiles, Transportation, and Industrial Development
    Chair: David Carlton, Vanderbilt University
    -- Margaret Calhoon, Archivist-Curator, Georgia Power Corporate Archives, "The Transportation and Manufacturing Connection: The Enterprise of John D. and William C. Gray"
    -- Gus Williamson, Virginia Tech University, "An Unanticipated Consequence: The Columbia Mills and the Columbia Canal"
    -- Michael Gagnon, William Patterson University, "Industry in the Driver's Seat: Why Antebellum Industrialists led thetransportation revolution in upcountry Georgia"
  • 11:30-1:00 Lunch
  • 1:00-2:00 Keynote Address
    -- Gregg Andrews, Southwest Texas State University, "Dust to Dust: Atlas Cement, Mark Twain Tourism, and the State in theDestruction of Ilasco, Missouri"
  • 2:00-2:30: Coffee break
  • 2:30-4:30: Republicanism, Politics, and Internal Improvements
    -- Eric Schlereth, Brandeis University, "The Grandest Chain Preserving the Federal Union: Nationalism, Republican Discourse, and the Potomac Company"
    -- John Sacher, Emporia State University, "'Banks to Steal the Money of the People, and Railroads to Run Away with it:' Internal Improvements and Antebellum Louisiana Politics"
  • Friday Evening: On Your Own (SIP nite @ Cardinals Baseball?)
    Those interested in attending Cardinals Baseball should mark their registration form below so the program organizer can get a good head count for a group rate on tickets.

Saturday, June 1

  • 9:30-11:30: Technology, Slavery, and Property Rights
    Chair: James Huston, Oklahoma State University
    -- Paul Paskoff, Louisiana State University, "Steamboats, River Improvements, and the Politics of Progress, 1821-1860"
    -- John Majewski, University of California, Santa Barbara, "Integration or Autarky? Strategies for Economic Development in Civil War Virginia"
    -- Steven Reich, James Madison University, "Industry, Race, and Property Rights in the New South"
  • 11:30-12:30: St. Louis Mercantile Library Tour
    Led by John Hoover, Chief Archivist, St. Louis Mercantile Library, and Carlos Schwantes, St. Louis Mercantile Professor of Transportation Studies, University of Missouri-St. Louis
  • 12:30-1:30 Lunch
  • 1:30-3:00 SIP Business Meeting

Arrangements:

The SIP Conference Committee has made arrangements at The Drury Inn at Union Station in downtown St. Louis from Thursday, May 30th to Sunday morning, June 2nd. The Conference rate is $120.99 a night. You can make reservations by calling (314)231-3900 or 1-800-378-7946. Be sure to mention the Southern Industrialization Conference to get the special conference rate. If you have any problems or questions, our contact person is Angie Merz.

The hotel is in a historic building and located on the Metrolink. If you are flying in, you will not need a car because the Metrolink stops at the airport, at UMSL's campus, and at Union Station. It costs approximately $3.50 to go between the airport and The Drury Inn. The Drury is just to the west of the Metrolink Station and across the street from the Hard Rock Cafe and Union Station. If you are driving, the address is 201 S. 20th Street (parking is free).

On another great note, the Cardinals are in town that weekend (night games both Friday and Saturday night and a Sunday afternoon game). The hotel is walking distance from Busch Stadium. If you are interested in seeing the future World Champions please contact Steve Collins at collinsstlcc@hotmail.com.

Steven G. Collins
SIP Program Chair
History Department
St. Louis Community College at Meramec
SCollins@stlcc.cc.mo.us