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Philadelphia Merchants on Western Waters

Commerce and Empire in the Riverine West, 1750–1803

Kim M. Gruenwald

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How Philadelphia merchants forged trade networks that fueled America's westward expansion.

Why did the Midwest become part of the United States instead of remaining under English, Spanish, or Native control? In Philadelphia Merchants on Western Waters, historian Kim M. Gruenwald reveals commerce and trade, rather than war and political conflict, as the driving force behind America's westward expansion.

Through meticulous research into business records, Gruenwald brings to life the daring ventures of Philadelphia merchant companies like Baynton, Wharton, & Morgan, who sought to dominate the...

How Philadelphia merchants forged trade networks that fueled America's westward expansion.

Why did the Midwest become part of the United States instead of remaining under English, Spanish, or Native control? In Philadelphia Merchants on Western Waters, historian Kim M. Gruenwald reveals commerce and trade, rather than war and political conflict, as the driving force behind America's westward expansion.

Through meticulous research into business records, Gruenwald brings to life the daring ventures of Philadelphia merchant companies like Baynton, Wharton, & Morgan, who sought to dominate the Illinois fur trade, and Reed & Forde, who expanded trade routes while speculating in land warrants. Their efforts laid the foundation for the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, which unified both banks of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers under one nation and set the stage for America's continental empire. Studying international dealings with French, Spanish, and Native powers, as well as the complexities of river commerce, Gruenwald paints a vivid portrait of a transformative era between the colonial Atlantic world and America's westward push to the Pacific.

Commercial expansion into what Gruenwald dubs "the Riverine West" represents a unique era in American history between the Atlantic of the colonial British Empire and the overland journeys of Americans heading across the Great Plains to California and Oregon in the nineteenth century. This book redefines our understanding of how a fledgling republic secured control of its western frontier—not through military conquest but through entrepreneurial spirit.

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Reviews

Through a careful study of Philadelphia merchants and their far-flung operations, Kim Gruenwald demonstrates the foundational role of commercial networks in constructing the U.S. empire in the Mississippi River valley.

The conquest of the trans-Appalachian west was not just about settlement and military control, it was also about commerce. This book recovers the story of the Philadelphia businesses who transported goods, credit, and people along the rivers of the American backcountry, shaping Indian history, western settlement, and the history of early American capitalism.

This book is, indeed, a fine study of Philadelphia merchants on western waters, but it is also a reconceptualization that extends the period of the American Revolution. Enterprising and adventurous merchants are at the center of this story—founders of a different sort looking to achieve free trade. This most excellent book provides a fresh reading of a critical period of American history.

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Book Details

Release Date
Publication Date
Status
Preorder
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
208
ISBN
9781421452159
Illustration Description
10 b&w illus.
Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: Colonial Port
1. An Imperial War
2. Shifting Boundaries
3. Land Grants
Part II: National Port
4. A Revolutionary War
5. Maneuvering in the Riverine West
6. Completing the

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: Colonial Port
1. An Imperial War
2. Shifting Boundaries
3. Land Grants
Part II: National Port
4. A Revolutionary War
5. Maneuvering in the Riverine West
6. Completing the Circuit
Epilogue
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography

Author Bio
Featured Contributor

Kim M. Gruenwald

Kim M. Gruenwald is an associate professor of history at Kent State University. She is the author of River of Enterprise: The Commercial Origins of Regional Identity in the Ohio Valley, 1790–1850.