From Discontented Bostonians to Patriotic Industrialists: The Boston Associates and the Transcontinental Treaty, 1790–1825

Abstract

Exploring the roots of the relationship between government and industry, the essay examines how the formerly anti-expansionist Boston Associates profited from claims reimbursements granted by the 1819 Transcontinental Treaty with Spain. Their windfall helps us rethink the federal government's role in facilitating their transition from merchants to industrialists, which ushered in a new age of capitalist economic growth.