Apr 24, 2023
Show Notes:
Mark Wilson is a history professor at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte and author of several books on American business and the winning of World War Two, the business of Civil War, military mobilization, and the state and the military and the market. Mark talks about his journey since Harvard which includes teaching English in Japan, his PhD in history in Chicago and meeting his wife, the last two decades in Charlotte with his wife and two teenage boys, and writing his books.
Mark was finishing up his senior thesis and his last season on the Ultimate Frisbee team when he was nominated for a Harvard-run fellowship which allowed him to teach in the UK but the position didn’t come through, and, with the poor job market, he was unable to find suitable employment and didn’t know what to do, until he and his friend Ernie Chung decided to go on a cross-country road trip in the US in his parents Honda Accord.
They visited some friends, and explored national parks like Glacier and the Grand Canyon, and while on the trip, he received news that a potential job opportunity had opened up. Mark was offered a job to teach English in Japan and he decided to take the opportunity. During his time in Japan, he taught a variety of people from children to factory workers, doctors and fighter pilots and he traveled throughout the country. He also took a trip to Beijing in 1993, which was just before China shifted to fiber optics and leaped forward as a global economy. It was much different to China now. He also saw a different side of Japan, which included some of the grittier parts of the country, as well as the typically polite and quiet people. Mark's fondest memories include being invited to join his students on weekend outings.
Stories about the Business of Civil War
While in Japan, he applied to several grad schools and was accepted into the University of Chicago where they had a Phd. History program where he specialized in the History of the United States and completed his Phd dissertation project, The Business of Civil War. He wrote about how the North supplied its armies during the Civil War and focused on the business/political history of that economic mobilization project. During his research, he found records from correspondence records and court martial case files, which proved an interesting source of information.
The Civil War and Industrialization
Mark pointed out that
there is a big debate among historians about the long-term economic
impact of the Civil War on industrialization. His 300-page book on
the subject offers insights into how the Civil War affected
American business.
The consensus among economic
historians is that the US Civil War had very limited or even a
negative impact on the country's industrialization. This is
contrary to the popular notion that it stimulated industrial
growth. Evidence for the limited impact of the war can be seen in
the decisions of the North’s top contractor, John Martin, who
invested his wartime fortune in high-end European paintings rather
than advancing technology. However, the author of a book on the war
economy argues that the army’s quartermasters should be recognized
as among the greatest business leaders of the 19th century because
of their massive acquisition efforts and logistics networks such as
supply chain management difficulties. He talks about how the
military set up army-run factories rather than going through the
private sector but to meet demand they had to turn to the private
sector. However, he believes that the public sector was as
influential in the rise of big business as the private
sector.
Teaching History
They left Chicago when his wife was offered a post at Cornell, and Mark started teaching part-time while he finished his dissertation. They moved to Charlotte in North Carolina where Mark was offered a position as an assistant professor.
In 2004, he went back to Harvard for a year where he got a postdoctoral. He finished his manuscript and started his second book on World War Two while teaching history. He teaches thematically organized courses, including the History of Democracy in the US or the Military Industrial Complex, or the History of Charlotte.
Mark discusses his book, Destructive Creation, which focuses on the business side of the story of the military industrial mobilization in World War II. He used archives from companies like Ford Motor Company, Boeing, and Du Pont, as well as records from civilian mobilization agencies and the military acquisition people in the services. Mark’s book offers the best book-length account of the big military industrial mobilization of WW2, but also about business's political and PR efforts during the war.
The Business Community and Industrial Military Complex
During the war, the business community worked hard to produce the necessary munitions and also waged a battle to win the public relations battle over who deserved the credit for the successful output of war supplies. This was an anti-New Deal political effort, as the business leaders were suspicious of the growth of government that occurred during the New Deal and World War II. He wrote not only about the machinations of production, but also the cultural and political interpretations.
He talks about how the US government had to pay for the plants and tools needed as the private sector didn't have the incentive to build them. He also mentioned how the military was involved in the supply chain, and how the government set up new factories and plants to supply the military and then brought in private companies to manage them.
He mentions how
surprised he is that some of his book's readers have been the Green
New Deal crowd and those interested in the COVID-19 pandemic, as
they look for ways to mobilize industrial production. He
believes the US defense sector has become more privatized and
driven by short-term financial goals, which may lead to shortages
and fragility.
Mark shares his thoughts on the
industrial military complex which he explores in his new book. He
mentions how he’s not surprised that there are shortages of
munitions or other problems because of the ways the defense sector
has changed in the last few decades, mainly, the fact that the U.S.
defense sector has become more privatized and driven by short-term
financial concerns.
Mark mentions influences from courses and professors at Harvard, including the course Human Physiology, and the instructors in the History and Literature program Dan Terrace and Steve Biel.
Timestamps:
06:09 Reflections on Teaching English in Japan
13:50 Reflections on Living and Working in Japan and Applying to Graduate School
20:21 The Impact of the
Civil War on American Economy and Business
24:11 Exploring Army Acquisition
Strategies During World War II
29:11 Early American History and
Defense Acquisition History
35:39 "Exploring the Business Side
of World War II
39:33 The Military Industrial Complex and US Industrial Mobilization +
51:39 Ukraine's Military Production and Harvard Influences +
Links:
The Business of Civil War: Military Mobilization and the State, 1861–1865
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