Black Americans’ Landholdings and Economic Mobility after Emancipation: New Evidence on the Significance of 40 Acres

Collins acknowledges support from National Science Foundation grant SES 1156057 and from the Grey and Dornbush gifts at Vanderbilt University. Wanamaker acknowledges support from National Science Foundation grant SES 1156085. This paper has benefited from the feedback of seminar participants at Stellenbosch University, University of Warwick, Yale University, Duke University (Sanford School), Stanford University, University of Oxford, George Washington University, University of Michigan, George Mason University, University of California-Berkeley, the Atlanta Fed’s Southeastern Micro Labor Workshop, and the Virtual Economic History Seminar. Insights from Jeremy Atack, Robert Margo, Paul Rhode, James Fenske, and Gavin Wright were particularly helpful. Bokseong Jeong provided valuable research assistance. Any opinions presented in this paper are of the authors only and do not represent the views of their employers. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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