Tobacco has been important to the American economy for much of the country's history. The British government taxed it, and because of its importance, the new United States government also regulated the growth and sale of tobacco and tobacco products in some fashion usually via taxes, from its founding.1 Beyond that, some regulation also occurred at the state level, most often related to the anti-smoking and anti-cigarette movement. This guide doesn't focus on the legal aspects of regulation, but below are just a few events to note as they might help expand research options.
These sources provide an overview of the history of tobacco as a crop and economic driver in the history of the United States.
If you are looking for information on specific states see the Tobacco in the States page of this guide. If you are looking for older trade periodicals see the subpage in the Research the Industry part of this guide. For those looking to research the Colonial time period, we have Colonies in America: Commerce, Business, and the Economy that includes sources related to business and commerce in the American colonies prior to the American Revolution.
The following materials link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are provided when available.
4000 Years of Service; the Story of the Wholesale Tobacco Industry and its Pioneers by American Negro slavery; a survey of the supply, employment and control of Negro labor as determined by the plantation regime by 
Capital and Credit in British Overseas Trade : The View from the Chesapeake, 1700–1776 by 
The Cigarette Century by 
The Cigarette: A Political History by Competition in the American Tobacco Industry, 1911-1932 by Cuban Counterpoint; Tobacco and Sugar by The Economic Development of the Cigar Industry in the United States by France and the Chesapeake; a History of the French Tobacco Monopoly, 1674-1791, and of its Relationship to the British and American Tobacco Trades by 
The Golden Leaf by The Great Industries of the United StatesGuide to Business History; Materials for the Study of American Business History and Suggestions for their Use by An Historical and Practical Essay on the Culture and Commerce of Tobacco by Index to publications of the United States Department of Agriculture by An Interesting Descriptive and Statistical History of Tobacco, its Original Introduction and its Present Culture & Manufacture by Joshua Johnson's Letterbook 1771-1774 : Letters from a Merchant in London to his Partners in Maryland by 
Planting an Empire by 
Pushing Cool : Big Tobacco, Racial Marketing, and the Untold Story of the Menthol Cigarette by 
The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company by 
RJR Report by 
Tobacco Culture by 
Tobacco in Atlantic Trade : the Chesapeake, London, and Glasgow, 1675-1775 by The Tobacco Industry in the United StatesTobacco Industry in the United States, by Meyer Jacobstein by 
Tobacco in History and SocietyThe Tobacco Lords by Tobacco Manufacture in the United States. A Report Adopted in Convention of the Trade, held at Cooper institute by Tobacconists' Advertising by 
Tobacco Products by The Tobacco Study by William and Mary QuarterlyWoman's Life on a Southern Tobacco Farm by 
