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Dissertation Information for Frank Marvin Murtaugh

NAME:
- Frank Marvin Murtaugh

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- History

SCHOOL:
- Emory University (USA) (1981)

ADVISORS:
- Rondo Cameron

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Kathryn E Amdur
- Kermit E. McKenzie

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: CAVOUR AND THE ECONOMIC MODERNIZATION OF THE KINGDOM OF SARDINIA

Abstract: "Cavour and the Economic Modernization of the Kingdom of Sardinia" examines the country's economy and, in particular, the effects of the modernization policies introduced by Count Camillo Benso di Cavour during the decade prior to Italian unification. Without Piedmontese leadership Italian unification would not have occurred when it did, and without Cavour Piedmont's assumption of a leading role would have been impossible.

At the time of the Restoration in 1815, Piedmont seemed an unlikely candidate to spearhead a drive for Italian unification. The political and economic policies were hardly progressive, and the country's leadership seemed neither capable nor desirous of modernizing its predominantly agricultural base. Limited progressive measures came after Charles Albert ascended the throne in 1831, but, by 1848, Piedmont was still an example of a progressive state only in comparison to even more backward ones scattered over the rest of the Italian peninsula. The country was, in addition, suffering the burden of the unsuccessful wars against Austria in 1848 and 1849.

In 1850 Cavour entered the government as Minister of Agriculture, Commerce, and Marine. The followng year he took up Finance as well. In 1852 he became Prime Minister, a post he retained (except for two brief periods, when he resigned) until his premature death in 1861. The second son of an aristocratic family, a brilliant but undisciplined youth, an undistinguished first lieutenant in the Piedmontese army, Cavour emerged into national prominence after more than a decade of innovative management of some of his family's estates and a short career in journalism, interspersed with enough travel abroad to entice him to become fascinated with the strides France and England were making toward industrialization and liberal government. Cavour based his economics on his knowledge of classical theories of political economy as well as his experiences as an agriculturalist and a businessman. He is a fine example of a nineteenth-century liberal, but he was always careful not to let theory interfere with reality. He steered a middle course to which he often referred as le juste milieu.

Over the course of the ten years that have become known as "the Cavourian decade," Cavour introduced reforms that drastically reoriented the Kingdom of Sardinia's economy. Postal reform, more extensive and equitable taxation, increased outlays on social overhead capital (especially railroads), and the establishment of financial institutions capable of handling the complexities of a modern state were only some of the changes inaugurated by Cavour. The crowning achievement of his economic modernization program was the movement of his country to free trade, a commercial policy that small, underdeveloped nations sytematically shunned, and one for which Cavour had to overcome stiff domestic oppositon.

Interpretations of Cavour's significance have become inextricably intertwined with the fierce continuing debate over the course of Italian unification and the form--Piedmontese hegemony--in which it finally came. The present study seeks to remain apart from those debates; therefore, it considers the effectiveness of Cavour's policies only insofar as they applied to the Kingdom of Sardinia before unification. Reliable economic data that might be used to evaluate the effectiveness of Cavour's policies are not available. Partial data on commercial policy, however, are available and this study concludes with an attempt to evaluate that effectiveness based on several economic criteria.

MPACT Scores for Frank Marvin Murtaugh

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-06-04 16:42:46

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Students under Frank Marvin Murtaugh

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None