War and Peace – Part Deux
If one looks at American history from a distance, our singular characteristic has been commerce. Tocqueville noted it in his highly accurate examination of America of the 19th century. He specifically commented on just how sharp and energetic we were in business competition. This far exceeded anything on the European continent.
A perusal of national income in the late 1700’s shortly after our founding, shows we Americans, we tiny 13 colonies, made an absolutely prodigious amount of money. It was done mostly via trade. At the time boats for trade were being built as fast as they could be. A vessel would go off on a voyage and pay for itself – on one voyage. Everything afterward was profit. So even in the vagaries of the sea and … Continue reading



