America Under the Hammer: Auctions and the Emergence of Market Values

Hartigan-O’Connor (history, Univ. of California, Davis; The Ties That Buy) presents an astute exploration of auctions in the U.S. during the 18th and 19th centuries. Her book references parallel behaviors in England and reminds readers that colonists wanted to profit from their transactions. She explores the relationship among auctions, auctioneers, bidders, and bystanders, all of which creates a palpable picture of the nation’s early economic climate. It was a time when white men cast women and Indigenous and enslaved people aside for a system that occupied a numerical value and social currency within the community. The book details this relationship with several narratives. For example, there are stories of Indigenous peoples who lost land used to secure debts; narratives about widows who were cast out of their homes because of their deceased spouse’s outstanding debts; and accounts of Loyalists whose belongings were taken because of their political beliefs. This book shows that auctions and auctioneers evolved throughout history as refusals to bid became a form of protest, and eventually the auction blocks became the center of abolitionism.