Y OF AMERICAN FOREIGN COMMERCE AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE NATIONAL PERIOD.1.
dustries in 1790, 3. Foreign and domestic trade in 1790, 6. The
fisheries, 9. Conditions affecting American shipping, 10. Disadvan
rican shipping in competition with British shipping, 11. Commercial
idering in detail the history of the foreign commerce of
tes during the period of national life under the Constit
be helpful to survey the status of the industries and trade
States in 1789 and 1790. This will afford a fixed point
measure the progress antecedent and subsequent to the
Constitution.
9 was significant in the economic as well as the political
United States. The country was recovering from the
sion that had begun in 1785. The revival of industry
k of that year had been slow, but the country was in
cally sound. Abundant available resources awaited
nd what was needed to enable business to expand was
vernment with power to provide itself with revenue,
Alic credit, to create a sound national currency, and to
rate and foreign trade. The government under the
readied by the judgment of Washington and guided by
.. political genius of Hamilton, established conditions
internal development of the country.
out of international relations favorable to the foreign
ed States proved to be a more difficult task. Indeed,
the second war with Great Britain that the United
d satisfactory commercial treaties with several im-
The handicap which this placed upon the foreign
d States was, as will be pointed out later, more than
93 to 1805, by the continental European wars that
rchants exceptional opportunities as neutral traders.
and the measures adopted early in Washington's
bled internal industry and trade to continue the
irted before 1789; but foreign commerce was given
'se by the continental wars.
pulation, by natural increase and by immigration,
census of the United States, taken in 1790, showed
1,326 people in the country, of whom about five-
d one-sixth black. There had been an increase
hapter was written by Emory R. Johnson.