In the process of linking Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia by rail, one of the largest corporations in the world was created. This text uses the history of southern railways to explore the themes of states' rights, racial violence, labour strife and big business in the 19th century.

Focusing on the Reconstruction era, this book links the expansion of Southern railways by Southern planters and northern capitalists to issues of State 's rights, racial violence, and big business.