"The United States must therefore either furnish much business to other maritime nations, even if they should themselves renounce commerce, as the Spaniards of Mexico have hitherto done, or they must become one of the first maritime powers of the globe.
"The Anglo-Americans have always displayed a decided taste for the sea. The Declaration of Independence by breaking the commercial bonds which united them to England, gave a fresh and powerful stimulus to their maritime genius. Ever since that time, the shipping of the Union has increased almost as rapidly as the number of its inhabitants. The Americans themselves now transport to their own shores nine-tenths of the European produce which they consume. And they also bring three-quarters of the exports of the New World to the European consumer. The ships of the United States fill the docks of Havre and of Liverpool, whilst the number of English and French vessels at New York is comparatively small. Thus, not only does the American merchant brave competition on his own ground, but even successfully supports that of foreign nations in their own ports. This is readily explained by the fact, that the vessels of the United States cross the seas at a cheaper rate....
"It is difficult to say for what reason the Americans can navigate at a lower rate than other nations; one is at first led to attribute this superiority to the physical advantages which nature gives them; but it is not so.
"The American vessels cost almost as much to build as our own; they are not better built, and they generally last a shorter time. The pay of the American sailor is more considerable than the pay on board European ships, which is proved by the great number of Europeans who are to be found in the merchant vessels of the United States. How happens it then, that the Americans sail their vessels at a cheaper rate than we can ours? I am of opinion that the true cause of their superiority must not be sought for in physical advantages, but that it is wholly attributable to moral and intellectual qualities....
"The European sailor navigates with prudence; he sets sail only when the weather is favorable; if an unforeseen accident befals him, he puts into port; at night, he furls a portion of his canvass; and when the whitening billows intimate the vicinity of land, he checks his course, and takes an observation of the Sun.
"The American neglects these precautions and braves these dangers. He weighs anchor before the tempest is over; by night and by day he spreads his sheets to the wind; he repairs as he goes along, such damage as his vessel may have sustained from the storm; and when he at last approaches the term of his voyage, he darts onward to the shore as if he already descried a port.
"The Americans are often shipwrecked, but no trader crosses the seas so rapidly. And, as they perform the same distance in shorter time, they can perform it at a cheaper rate.....
"I cannot better explain my meaning, than by saying that the Americans show a sort of heroism in their manner of trading. The European merchant will always find it difficult to imitate his American competitor who, in adopting the system which I have just described, does not follow calculation, but an impulse of his nature.....
"Reason and experience prove that no commercial prosperity can be durable if it cannot be united, in case of need, to naval force. This truth is as well understood in the United States as anywhere else; the Americans are already able to make their flag respected; in a few years they will make it feared.....
"Nations, as well as men, almost always betray the prominent features of their future destiny in their earliest years. When I contemplate the ardor with which the Anglo-Americans prosecute commerce, the advantages which aid them, and the success of their undertakings, I cannot help believing that they will one day become the first maritime power of the globe. They are born to rule the seas, as the Romans were to conquer the world."[*]