594. Importance of commercial policy in this period.—The two preceding chapters have described the conditions of commerce in the United States about 1789, with but an occasional reference to the influence which governments exercised in directing and restricting the movement of wares. In every period governments interfere with the free exchange of commodities, that the interests of the people as a whole may not suffer from the selfishness of individual merchants. In the period under consideration, lasting through the second war with England, the influence of governments on the fortunes of our foreign trade was more pronounced than it has ever been in later times; and the topic of commercial policy must occupy the leading place in this present chapter.
595. Questions of policy.—The Revolution of 1776, by which a group of English colonies was transformed into an independent state, claiming to rank as England’s equal, shocked the ideas of European statesmen to an extent which we can hardly conceive. There was no place in the political system of the time for an independent American state. For centuries the states of Europe had been the sole source of active political and commercial power; in other continents were to be found only semi-civilized states, subject to European influence, and colonies, under the complete control of the mother countries. Each European state had regulated as it pleased the commercial relations of its colonies with the mother country, with other European countries, and with their colonies. Now that the United States had won its political independence, was it to be treated by England as though it was still an English colony, and given its former privileges though it was no longer subject to the former restrictions? Were other European states to welcome its commerce, now that England could no longer prevent, or were they to treat it like a European state, and restrict its trade with themselves and with their colonies? Finally, what attitude was the United States itself to adopt, now that it could frame its policy as it pleased? These were among the serious problems that perplexed the statesmen of the Old and New Worlds, as the success of the American Revolution became assured.
596. Policy of England.—Reference has been made in a previous paragraph to the striking fact that the colonists had no sooner won the war of independence than they returned to an active commerce with the country against which they had been fighting. Comparing the six years preceding the Revolution with the six years following the treaty of peace (1783), we find that the volume of trade between the United States and England was substantially the same. The American people suffered during the war for lack of the manufactures which they had been accustomed to purchase from England, and which they found then could be purchased to such advantage nowhere else; and as soon as peace permitted they began eagerly to buy English products again. For a moment it appeared that England was ready to welcome this trade; the English statesman, Pitt, introduced a bill which aimed to encourage the American trade not only with England but also with her colonies. Such a policy implied too serious a breach in the old system, and was not carried into effect. The Americans were, indeed, permitted and encouraged to trade still with England; that country could not afford to give up the growing market for its manufactures which the United States afforded. The ports of the West Indies, however, were closed to American merchants; the Americans were to be punished for their insubordination by exclusion from a branch of commerce which was to them of the first importance.
597. Policy of France and other states.—The Americans learned, not only from England but also from other European powers, that an independent state must shift for itself and could hope for no commercial favors. They might fairly suppose that the countries which had joined in their war against England (France, Spain, the Netherlands) would take advantage of the successful issue of the conflict to seek to secure the American trade which England had hitherto monopolized. They found, indeed, that these and other countries were willing to sell their goods to the United States; but still these countries were reluctant to take in exchange American wares for which they felt no special need, and were most reluctant to open the trade of their colonies to people of any nationality but their own. John Adams might say of France in 1780, “All the world will allow the flourishing state of her marine and commerce, and the decisive influence of her councils and negotiations, to be owing to her new connections with the United States”; whatever truth there might be in the statement, France certainly refused to express her gratitude by the grant of commercial privileges. France found, actually, that after the return of peace the Americans ceased to buy her manufactures, and flocked for trade to the English markets. French merchants complained that none of them ever gained in commerce with the United States: when all the best part of the American custom went to English merchants, why should France or any other country on the Continent relax the restrictions which were designed to protect the home market and the colonial market for the benefit of natives?
598. Conditions of American trade with Europe in 1789.—In spite of the unfavorable attitude of the powers which controlled the great markets of the world, the United States maintained a considerable commerce, as was shown by the descriptions of previous chapters. This commerce was, however, carried on under serious disadvantages. Reviewing the staple exports of the country we find that breadstuffs were generally subject to prohibitory duties in England, and that fish and salt provisions were actually prohibited in England, and were heavily dutied in France. The southern staples fared little better, for they competed with the products of European colonies even though they did not threaten European industries. Tobacco and rice were subject either to actual prohibitions or to heavy duties in most of the important European markets.
599. Conditions of trade with the West Indies.—Conditions of trade with the West Indies were even worse. Spain and Portugal absolutely forbade all direct intercourse with their colonial possessions; and wares destined for their colonies had either to be carried by smugglers or else exported to Europe and then re-exported in ships of the mother country. England closed her possessions on the American mainland completely, and while, as a temporary favor, she admitted some wares to her West India colonies, by proclamations renewed from year to year, she prohibited salt provisions and fish, and excluded American ships from the trade. Her vessels alone could take our produce and bring back the molasses, sugar, etc., which formed the objects of the return trade. The French West Indies, also, were open to us only as a temporary concession, and in them and in the colonial possessions of other powers the trade was burdened with duties.
600. Weakness of the United States at this time.—These were by no means all the hardships under which American commerce labored at this time. The government was too young and weak to furnish adequate protection to ships flying the American flag in foreign waters and on the high seas, and it had as yet obtained no guarantee that American fishermen would be allowed to pursue their calling as before the Revolution. Furthermore, the attention of American statesmen was distracted by the need of getting the machinery of the new government in running order, and by the serious fiscal difficulties which pressed for settlement. These were the dark days of American commerce. From the lofty position which the United States has reached to-day, courted for its commerce and its political influence by other great powers of the world, it is hard to realize how humble was our national position in 1789, and how precarious seemed our commercial future.
601. Survey of American commerce, 1789-1815.—Starting from these beginnings we have now to trace the course of our commerce through the period. So sharp were the fluctuations in this early stage that I give the annual statistics, and, for reasons which will be apparent later, call particular attention to the distinction between domestic exports, of articles produced in the United States, and foreign exports, of articles brought from some other country and re-exported. No exact figures for the imports of this period can be given, but it is safe to say that the value of the imports did not diverge greatly from the value of the exports.
| Exports of the United States, in Millions of Dollars (Fiscal years, ending Sept. 30 of the date given) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | Foreign | Total | |
| 1790 | —— | —— | 20.4 |
| 1791 | —— | —— | 19.0 |
| 1792 | —— | —— | 20.7 |
| 1793 | —— | —— | 26.1 |
| 1794 | —— | —— | 33.0 |
| 1795 | —— | —— | 47.9 |
| 1796 | 40.7 | 26.3 | 67.0 |
| 1797 | 29.8 | 27.0 | 56.8 |
| 1798 | 28.5 | 33.0 | 61.5 |
| 1799 | 33.1 | 45.5 | 78.6 |
| 1800 | 31.8 | 39.1 | 70.9 |
| 1801 | 47.4 | 46.6 | 94.1 |
| 1802 | 36.7 | 35.7 | 72.4 |
| 1803 | 42.2 | 13.5 | 55.8 |
| 1804 | 41.4 | 36.2 | 77.6 |
| 1805 | 42.3 | 53.1 | 95.5 |
| 1806 | 41.2 | 60.2 | 101.5 |
| 1807 | 48.6 | 59.6 | 108.3 |
| 1808 | 9.4 | 12.9 | 22.4 |
| 1809 | 31.4 | 20.7 | 52.2 |
| 1810 | 42.3 | 24.3 | 66.7 |
| 1811 | 45.2 | 16.0 | 61.3 |
| 1812 | 30.0 | 8.4 | 38.5 |
| 1813 | 25.0 | 2.8 | 27.8 |
| 1814 | 6.7 | 0.1 | 6.9 |
| 1815 | 45.9 | 6.5 | 52.5 |
| 1816 | 64.7 | 17.1 | 81.9 |
| 1817 | 68.3 | 19.3 | 87.6 |
602. Fluctuations in the export trade; share of domestic and of foreign exports.—If the reader will cast his eye down the column of totals he will appreciate at once the unsteadiness of our trade during the period under consideration. For a few years the figure of exports was almost constant. Then, in 1793, began a rapid rise; the export trade doubled, tripled, more than quadrupled. A check to this growth was apparent in the few years after 1801, but it began again, and the figures of exports reached their highest point in the years 1806 and 1807. They had grown more than fivefold in fifteen years. The year of 1808 showed a precipitous decline, and, after an interval of partial recovery, the figures reached their lowest point in 1814. At the close of the period prospects seemed brighter.