Who Is William Paterson?

By the time the Stuarts came to power, the seamen of Elizabeth’s era had turned their attentions away from plunder and conquest to development/growth of capital and commerce. England settled North America and most of the West Indies and already had established trading stations from West Africa to India. For the first time since the discovery of the new world, the English saw the colonies as a place to settle, govern and develop and not to conquer, plunder and abandon. The imposition of laws is always preceded by the intent of

The following paper, through the mind and words of a fictionalized character, examines the crucial issues and various changes the imperial relationship between Great Britain and its North American colonies underwent in the mid-to-late eighteenth century. Drawing upon various historical events and enactments, the story of Gerald Gardner, a Bostonian merchant, will try to synthesize these events and provide a reflection upon the American Revolution from the point-of-view of those who shared his line of work. While the following opinions expressed display the feelings and attitudes of one man, the same cannot be applied historically to all of the merchant class. The characters and

James I of England wanted to get the New World that Spain could not protect so he brought in the Virginia Company which was a joint stock company. The people who invested in this company wanted to make the overseas stronger and the people at home could produce and eat goods.

The central pillar of the British economy during its colonial period was its extensive trading power. Any threat to this power would have to be remedied sooner than later. For this exact reason the Currency Act of 1764 was birthed. In spirit the Currency Act of 1764 was intended for the betterment of British commerce. However, in actuality the Currency Act of 1764 had a negative impact on the lives of British colonial residents.

As many American businesses engaged in credit sales with Britain, they were crippled when several financial crises gripped London in the 1760’s and 1770’s. These forced Britain merchants to call in their debts. Unable to generate any liquid form of currency, American businesses were frequently ruined and the colonial economy damaged. Outraged by these new laws and the Quartering Act which required colonial citizens to house and feed British troops, the American colonies began to systematically boycott British goods.”(1)

Considered the “greatest capitalist of all times”, Andrew Carnegie was the most intuitive businessman of his era(History Channel 2016). Originally from Dunfermline, Scotland, he and his family emigrated to the United States due to and economic depression, and made their home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Carnegie’s first job in America was working as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory. Andrew Carnegie became a messenger boy at the railroad telegraph office and quickly learned how translate and transcribe Morse Code when he was only fourteen years of age. He vastly excelled and was known as the fastest in the telegrapher in the business.

The British North American economy was significantly operated by the aforementioned investors (21). Due to economic crisis in the early 1860s (44), they

The name Robert Morris, or “Financier of the Revolution”, might not sound familiar to most, but without him the states wouldn’t have been able to separate from British rule. He was born in 1734, in Liverpool, England. Morris never met his mother. His father sailed to the colonies to become a tobacco trader. After his father left Morris was brought up by his grandmother until he turned 13 and went to join his father in the new world. Unfortunately, soon after he arrived his father was accidentally shot by a canon. His apprenticeship in Philadelphia at an import-export firm was quickly earning him lots of money. In due course, Morris became one of the partners of Willing & Morris. They were growing rapidly and his affluent status became more and more well known.

When Pitt became prime minister in 1783 Britain was state of depression. Pitt inherited a demoralised and isolated country, caused by its loss of the American colonies and the unity of regional powers France and Spain against her. Despite this, over the next decade, Britain saw a rise in its economy and a recovery in its international prestige, termed as a ‘national revival’. The actions of Pitt, who was seen as a Patriotic and independent character above politics, can be analysed over the factors of administrative, financial and trade reforms which he brought in. But the argument must be had on extent to which he was responsible for revival compared to the other

Dictating that Massachusetts produce a certain annual allowance of cotton for the crown would be ridiculous. Due to distance, the Crown was unable to directly regulate economic policy and trade within the colonies so the colonists were forced to devise a regulatory system. This system allowed “a young business man [to] borrow money and move into trade, challenging the commercial position of older, more experienced merchants” (Text, 51).

Franklin, despite his British’s loyalties and love, comes up with an alternative plan for raising revenue instead of taxing legal paper. He proposes a plan that parliament authorize the issuing of paper currency at interest. Franklin knows exactly how his proposed plan will work and assures his fellows by saying that “it would not be an unpleasing one”. This action taken by Franklin to find another option to raise money demonstrates how he has his country of birth’s interest at heart. Unfortunately, his proposal is rejected by Greenville, a chief minister under who’s the Stamp act is planned. But that does not stop him from appealing the plan. However, many colonies such as Pennsylvanian blame Franklin for creating the Stamp Act. Even his home back in America, his wife and relatives are threatened because of the Act. They blame him for framing the

Smith, however, was of the opinion that Mercantile System was deeply flawed. Firstly, as given in the Fourth Book (3) of the Wealth of Nations, he argued that the real wealth of a nation was “not in the unconsumable riches of money, but in the consumable goods annually reproduced by the labour of the society”. (4) Secondly, the balance of trade, as observed by him, often did little to enhance the wealth of a nation and instead served to create violent national animosity instead. He instead put forth the idea of a balance of annual production and consumption, which if it were unfavourable would have caused a decay of the wealth of a nation. Thirdly, Prof. Smith was a strong critic of the idea of colonialism; stating that, “To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers, may at first sight, appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. It is, however, a project altogether unfit for a nation of shopkeepers, but extremely fit for a nation whose government is influenced by shopkeepers. Such statesmen, and such statesmen only, are capable of fancying that they will find some advantage in employing the blood and treasure of their fellow-citizens, to found and maintain such an empire.”(5) The implication being that the idea of colonialism was of an extremely oppressive nature, beneficial only to the colonial

Born in Philadelphia in 1739, George Clymer was an orphan from a young age, raised by his aunt and uncle. George Clymer was informally educated, his exact schooling in unknown. Following an accounting apprenticeship, Clymer’s uncle brought his nephew up as a merchant and when his uncle passed, Clymer took over his uncle’s mercantile firm. Once Clymer had established himself as a merchant, he merged his firm with that of a prominent, wealthy family, the Merediths. Clymer went on to wed his partner’s daughter. As Clymer grew older, his business was impacted by British economic limitations which led to Clymer’s adoption of the Revolutionary cause.

In the years leading up to this meeting, called the “Second Virginia Convention,” the British Crown had been increasingly exerting its authority over its colonial constituents. Several substantial taxes on colonial imports and exports had been

In the American nation, he developed love of regulation, efficiency and organization. Hamilton strongly showed that America must possess credit for the development of government operations, trade, industry and business activities. He stressed the importance of the central government to take over the debts of the state that were unpaid in the Revolutionary period (Scott, 2008). The central government was endorsed by the American Constitution to charge and collect taxes as well as pay liabilities (Robertson, 2005). Such operations can be professionally handled by a central bank. Therefore, Hamilton was characterized by thinking creatively and critically as he observed the potential of the trade industry’s immense power (Pancake, 1974).