The Value of a Dollar: Colonial Era to the Civil War: 1600-1865 (Value of a Dollar)

This source is an engaging statistical summary that looks at the history of the American people through the eyes of everyday workers and consumers. The 265 years it covers are presented in six chronological chapters: "1600-1749: The Development of the Colonies," "1750-1774: The Run up to the War of American Independence," and so on, ending with the close of the Civil War in 1865. Chapters are uniformly arranged into sections such as "Currency," "Selected Incomes," "Financial Rates & Exchanges," "Slave Trades," and "Commodities." For example, chapter 3, covering the period of the American Revolution, indicates that a drum major in the Continental Army received $10 per month, while a brigadier general earned $125 per month. If the general wanted to buy coffee for his men, the price was $.