{"product_id":"philadelphia-merchants-on-western-waters-commerce-and-empire-in-the-riverine-west-1750-1803-9781421452159","title":"Philadelphia Merchants on Western Waters: Commerce and Empire in the Riverine West, 1750-1803","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow Philadelphia merchants forged trade networks that fueled America's westward expansion.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy did the Midwest become part of the United States instead of remaining under English, Spanish, or Native control? In \u003ci\u003ePhiladelphia Merchants on Western Waters\u003c\/i\u003e, historian Kim M. Gruenwald reveals commerce and trade, rather than war and political conflict, as the driving force behind America's westward expansion. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThrough meticulous research into business records, Gruenwald brings to life the daring ventures of Philadelphia merchant companies like Baynton, Wharton \u0026amp; Morgan, who sought to dominate the Illinois fur trade, and Reed \u0026amp; Forde, who expanded trade routes while speculating in land warrants. Their efforts laid the foundation for the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, which unified both banks of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers under one nation and set the stage for America's continental empire. Studying international dealings with French, Spanish, and Native powers, as well as the complexities of river commerce, Gruenwald paints a vivid portrait of a transformative era between the colonial Atlantic world and America's westward push to the Pacific. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCommercial expansion into what Gruenwald dubs \"the Riverine West\" represents a unique era in American history between the Atlantic of the colonial British Empire and the overland journeys of Americans heading across the Great Plains to California and Oregon in the nineteenth century. This book redefines our understanding of how a fledgling republic secured control of its western frontier--not through military conquest but through entrepreneurial spirit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eKim M. Gruenwald\u003c\/b\u003e is an associate professor of history at Kent State University. She is the author of \u003ci\u003eRiver of Enterprise: The Commercial Origins of Regional Identity in the Ohio Valley, 1790-1850\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Johns Hopkins University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51661411975442,"sku":"9781421452159","price":67.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_98bdcfb8-8327-439e-aeb6-2314c338b349.jpg?v=1760442901","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/philadelphia-merchants-on-western-waters-commerce-and-empire-in-the-riverine-west-1750-1803-9781421452159","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}