Economic development in the United States from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War - Essay Example

In other words the paper describes the American economy from 1775 up to 1865. During the revolutionary war period, the British made attempts to crush down the American economy through blockading all the ports. However, with over 90 percent of the population practicing farming, it was not an easy task for the economy to be crushed. Thus, according to Atack and Passell (98-99), the economy of America during the revolutionary war period proved to be resilient and was able to sustain the war. The Congress and the most of the American states financed the war using various ways.

At the time of declaration of American independence in 1776, the economies of the thirteen original states were stable. The adoption of the United States constitution in 1787 also facilitated the growth of America’s economy to large extents. The constitution for instance, stated that the entire nation was a common market, devoid of internal tariffs and taxes on interstate commerce. This greatly stimulated economic growth. The first secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton championed a myriad of reforms that saw the US economy thrive (Rousseau, and Sylla 9).

He established a strong national credit. This was based on taking over the incumbent state debts and adding them up to the old state debts into new securities which were in turn sold to the rich people. He also funded the state debts through tariffs imposed on imported goods as well as a high tax on whiskey. Hamilton succeeded in diversifying the American economy by ameliorating the manufacturing, banking and shipping sectors. Through his efforts, the first Bank of the United States was established in 1791.

However, the bill for the establishment of the first Bank of the United States provided for a twenty year charter for the bank. This implies that, the charter was to be renewed in 1811. Even so, the Bank of the United States is credited for solving a plethora of monetary problems that had marred the United States