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. The St. Louis Mercantile Library, the University of Missouri-St. Louis History Department, and the UMSL Public Policy Research Center are proudly sponsoring this year’s meeting.

Friday, May 31

All paper presentations will be held in the Millennium Center in the Millennium Center, Room C on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus. The Millennium Center is a short walk from the North Campus Metrolink stop.

9:30-11:30: Session I

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 the transportation 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 the Destruction of Ilasco, Missouri”

coffee break

2:30-4:30: Session II
Republicanism, Politics, and Internal Improvements

Chair: Sean Adams, University of Central Florida

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: Cardinals Baseball Game

Saturday, June 1

9:30-11:30: Session III
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: Session IV
St. Louis Mercantile Library Tour

Presenters: John Hoover, Chief Archivist, St. Louis Mercantile Library

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.

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 Café 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