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Entrepreneurial Activity in New York during the American Revolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2012

Bernard Mason
Bernard Mason
Affiliation:
Associates Professor of History, State University of New York, Binghamton
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Abstract

The ability of some New York businessmen to exploit the war economy of the Revolution is suggested in this study of their pursuits and profits.

Type
Articles
Information
Business History Review , Volume 40 , Issue 2 , Summer 1966 , pp. 190 - 212
Copyright
Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 1966

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References

1 Transportation costs do not seem to have been the bugbear they appear on paper. John R. Livingston calculated that he could make a 50 per cent profit after all costs on goods bought in Boston. His cousin, Henry, bought rum in Hartford at 10s. 6d./gallon and sold it for 24s./gallon in Peekskill. Walter Livingston estimated that cartage and all other expenses came to 1½ dollars/hogshead on rum from Boston. With the sale price in Albany at 14 dollars/gallon in November, 1778, expenses were a small portion of price. John R. Livingston to R. R. Livingston, August 29, 1777, Henry Livingston to Walter Livingston, January 14, May 24, 1777, Walter Livingston to John Cochran, November 14, 1778, Walter Livingston Letter Book, R. R. Livingston Collection, New York Historical Society.

2 Isaac Roosevelt lost his sugar refinery and income from real estate, but by the summer of 1777 had sufficient capital to invest £5,000–6,000 in Loan Office certificates. John R. Livingston to R. R. Livingston, August 29, 1777, ibid.

3 Walter Livingston estimated the grain loss in Albany and Tryon Counties in 1780 at 200,000 bushels. Livingston to R. R. Livingston, January 7, 1781, ibid.

4 Governor Clinton stated their proportion to be 60 per cent. The same estimate appears in the press. Cochran, Thomas C., New York in the Confederation (Philadelphia, 1932), 49CrossRefGoogle Scholar; “A Farmer,” New-York Journal, January 4, 1779.

5 Since 1775 had been a year of sizable exports to Britain and slight imports, the large favorable balance of trade may have sharply diminished New York indebtedness. Harrington, Virginia D., The New York Merchants on the Eve of the Revolution (New York, 1935), 353.Google Scholar

6 For a discussion of the costs of colonialism to the colonists, see Harper, Lawrence A., “The Effects of the Navigation Acts on the Thirteen Colonies,” Morris, Richard B. (ed.), The Era of the American Revolution (New York, 1939), 4–39.Google Scholar

7 East, Robert A., Business Enterprise in the American Revolutionary Era (New York, 1938), 37.Google Scholar

8 Yoshpe, Harry B., The Disposition of Loyalist Estates in the Southern District of the State of New York (New York, 1939)Google Scholar, passim; East, Business Enterprise, 225; Flick, Alexander C., Loyalism in New York During the American Revolution (New York, 1901)Google Scholar, appendix; Crary, Catherine S., “Forfeited Loyalist Lands in the Western Districts of New York,” New York History, XXXV: 239–58.Google Scholar

9 Harrington, New York Merchants, 140–43; “Rough Hewer,” New-York Journal, January 24, 1784. Although the uncertainties of the war inhibited land sales and speculation, some evidence indicates continued transactions in this sphere. R. R. Livingston to Lord Ranelagh, November 2, 1777, John R. Livingston to R. R. Livingston, October 26, 1778, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS; land advertisement, New-York Journal, March 29, 1779.

10 The attractions of business in wartime drew some of those who normally were not merchants. Chancellor Livingston, for example, invested quietly £10,000 in trade, half as a loan to his brother, the balance for his own risk. John managed the purchase of the goods in Boston for the joint venture. John R. Livingston to R. R. Livingston, August 29, 1777, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS; R. R. Livingston to John R. Livingston, September 14, 1777, Miscellaneous Mss., New York State Library. See also Chancellor Livingston's proposal to Jay for a joint venture in Tory and confiscated lands with £6,000 capital on the grounds that conditions “open a great field for speculation.” Livingston to Jay, January 25, 1784, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS.

11 East, Business Enterprise, chapter V, contains a detailed account of army business. New York also enjoyed the advantage of the spending in specie of Burgoyne's Convention army from October, 1777 to November, 1778. There was money to be made in transporting supplies and not a few merchants added this type of activity to their endeavors. Walter Livingston paid out more than £18,000 in transportation charges in his year as Deputy Commissary General. Account Book C, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS.

12 For the state's role, Francis Lewis to the N. Y. Convention, March 12, 1777, Colonel James Broome to the N.Y. Convention, May 5, 1777, Journals of the Provincial Congress, Provincial Convention, Committee of Safety and Council of Safety of the State of New York, 1775–77 (2 vols., Albany, 1842), I, 859, 915; East, Business Enterprise, 191. There were at least 22 New York privateers in action, perhaps half of which were the state's. New York in the Revolution as Colony and State (Albany, 1898), 269 and Supplement, 98.

13 John R. Livingston to R. R. Livingston, October 11, 1776, February 2, December 18, 1777, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS.

14 The activities of Walter, Henry, and John R. Livingston and John Carter give a detailed picture of this interstate trade. Their correspondence is in R. R. Livingston Collection, boxes 2, 3, 4, NYHS. Also Abraham Livingston to Philip Schuyler, May 28, 1777, Schuyler Papers, New York Public Library. Joseph Reed obtained the information about Duer from an intercepted letter of Deane's. Reed to McDougall, April 11, 1779, McDougall Papers, NYHS.

For the broader picture see Ver Steeg, Clarence L., Robert Morris, Revolutionary Financier (Philadelphia, 1954)CrossRefGoogle Scholar , chaps. 1–2; James Ferguson, E., “Business, Government, and Congressional Investigation in the Revolution,” William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Ser., XVI (July, 1959), 293–318CrossRefGoogle Scholar; James Ferguson, E., The Power of the Purse (Chapel Hill, 1961)Google Scholar , chap. 5.

15 John Lansing, Jr. to Schuyler, January 14, 1779, Schuyler Papers, NYPL.

16 Some landholders served as traders for their tenants. See Robert C. Livingston to James Duane, February 6, 1782, Duane Papers, NYHS; Ledger and Account Book, Account Book, 1774–96, Schuyler Papers, NYPL; Schuyler to —, November 28, 1777, Lloyd R. Smith Papers, Morristown National Park.

The lively concern of the landowners over markets for their produce may be seen in a letter from Robert Livingston, Jr. to Duane, March 30, 1784: “I long much to know whether we are like to have a commercial treaty with Britain, whether our commissioners … have any instructions from Congress concerning it. For my part I am anxiously concerned, for, if we may not be permitted to trade with our staple commodities in our own vessels to their West Indies islands, our wheat and flour must lay on our hands and sell for 4/ per bushel and 12/ per cwt and under, as its but seldom that England, France, Spain, and Portugal will want it; nor can we ship it elsewhere. Much, nay even our well-being, depends upon it. Although some people talk light of this matter, its of great consequence to the landed estates in this, and all other countries.” Duane Papers, NYHS.

17 Spaulding, E. W., New York in the Critical Period (New York, 1932), 61–62Google Scholar; Mark, Irving, Agrarian Conflicts in New York (New York, 1940), 66–69Google Scholar; Ellis, David M., Landlords and Farmers in the Hudson-Mohawk, 1790–1850 (Ithaca, 1946), 33n, 37, 41–42Google Scholar; Alexander, Edward P., A Revolutionary Conservative: James Duane of New York (New York, 1936), 218–19Google Scholar; Livingston Manor lease, May 1, 1769, of Frederick Cremer, Livingston Papers, Museum of the City of New York; Beekman family leases, Van Cortlandt-Van Wyck Papers, NYPL; “The Real Farmer,” New-York Journal, January 18, 1779.

18 Ibid.

19 East, Business Enterprise, 105–107; Robert Livingston, Jr.'s bill, Journal of the Assembly, 4th Session, 4 (hereafter cited as AJ).

20 Delegates, N.Y. to the Council of Safety, June 19, 1777, Jour. Prov. Cong., I, 980Google Scholar; Duane to Schuyler, June 19, 1777, same to R. R. Livingston, June 24, 1777, Burnett, Edmund C. (ed.), Letters of the Members of the Continental Congress (8 vols., Washington, 1921–1936), II, 383, 387Google Scholar.

21 For the details of this strife see Johnson, Victor L., The Administration of the American Commissariat during the Revolutionary War (Philadelphia, 1941), 121–24Google Scholar; Walter Livingston Letterbook, July, 1775, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS; Schuyler Papers, boxes 23, 24, NYPL; Force, Peter, American Archives (9 vols., Washington, 1837–1853), 4th Ser., III, 46–47, 226, 739, 1013, 1523, 5th Ser., I, 852–853Google Scholar; Fitzpatrick, John C. (ed.), The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources (39 vols., Washington, 1931–1944), V, 223–24, 254, 357–58Google Scholar; Burnett, Letters, II, 35–36.

22 Walter Livingston Account Book, Cash Disbursed, 1775–87, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS; Abstract of Accounts of the Commissary Department, ibid., box 5; Walter Livingston Account Book C, 1775–76, ibid.; Abraham Ten Broeck to Schuyler, April 5, 1777, Daniel Hale to Schuyler, February 8, 1777, Schuyler Papers, NYPL.

23 East, Business Enterprise, 105, 110.

24 Walter to Robert Livingston, December 18, 1778, Letter Book, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS.

25 East, Business Enterprise, 116–17, 124; Comfort Sands & Co., Account Book for Moving Army Contract, 1782–83, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS; Duer to Parker, November 14, 1782, Duer Papers, NYHS; Daily Advertiser, February 25, 1789; Schuyler to Jay, February 1, 1777, Jay Papers, Columbia University Library.

26 East, Business Enterprise, 113–20, 211; C. T. Atkinson, “British Forces in North America, 1774–81,” Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, XIX, 166. Carter was Schuyler's son-in-law. Lewis was the son of merchant Francis Lewis.

27 In August, 1782 there was an additional £2,500,000 paper in these notes which had been paid into the treasury for taxes. Treasurer's Accounts, 1775–78; NYHS; Extract from State Treasurer's Book, May 10, 1781, ‘Laws for Raising Money, August 1, 1782,’ Hamilton Papers NYSL (microfilm of Hamilton Papers, LC).

28 Morris, Richard B., Government and Labor in Early America (New York, 1946), chapter IIGoogle Scholar; Burnett, , Continental Congress (New York, 1941)Google Scholar, chapters XX, XXII; Bullock, Charles J., Finances of the United States from 1775 to 1789, with Especial Reference to the Budget (Madison, 1895)Google Scholar, chapter I; Bezanson, Anne, et al., Prices and Inflation during the American Revolution: Pennsylvania, 1770–90 (Philadelphia, 1951)CrossRefGoogle Scholar, passim; Ver Steeg, Robert Morris, 42–57; Ferguson, Power of Purse, 25–47. For a different view see Jensen, Merrill, The New Nation (New York, 1950)Google Scholar, chapter II.

29 N.Y.J., July 20, August 17, September 21, October 19, November 23, December 21, 1775, January 11, February 22, March 14, April 18, May 16, June 20, 1776; New York Packet, July 18, August 15, 1776.

30 N.Y.J., March 14, 1776. Albany set higher maximums. Sullivan, J. (ed.), Minutes of the Albany Committee of Correspondence 1775–78 and Minutes of the Schenectady Committee, 1775–79 (2 vols., Albany, 1923, 1925), I, 385.Google Scholar

31 See sources cited in n. 29.

32 The New York City Committee had sought to enforce the maximums set up in the Continental Association, but McDougall commented on the many violations. McDougall to Jay, November 26, 1775, Jay Papers, CUL. In addition to the cases cited in Morris, Government and Labor, 122–25, see John Roff, May 2, July 10, 1776, James Williams, July 26, 1776, Hubbard, Joseph K., September 5, 1776, Min. Albany Com., I, 395, 483, 502, 540Google Scholar; Tremper, John, December 15, 1777, Jour. Prov. Cong., I, 1100Google Scholar; unspecified complaints, July 8, 1779, Rent, John, July 24, 1779, Min. Albany Com., II, 1148, 1153Google Scholar; Alsop, John, May 25, 1776, Calendar of Historical Manuscripts Relating to the War of the Revolution in the Office of the Secretary of State (2 vols., Albany, 1868), I, 317–18.Google Scholar

33 Min. Albany Com., I, 400; Cal. Hist. Mss., I, 312, 317–18.

34 Morris, Government and Labor, 125; Fishkill, August, 1776, Constitutional Gazette, August 24, 1776; Kingston, November 18, 1776, Goshen, December 2, 1776; Force, Archives, 5th Ser., III, 754, 1040.

35 Sears to Washington, May 2, 1776, ibid., 4th Ser., V, 1175. In August, 1776 the women of Fishkill, indignant at the exorbitant price exacted by Alderman Leffertse, late of New York City, offered him 9s. which was 3s. over the maximum. When he refused to sell, they broke open the tea, weighed out their own purchases, charged themselves 6s. a pound, and remitted the money to the Dutchess County Committee. Const. Gaz., August 24, 1776.

36 Perhaps John Sloss Hobart, an opponent of controls, expressed the sentiments of many merchants when he wrote: “The liberty of acquiring property is, probably, the greatest incentive to action in the whole moral system, especially among the common mass of mankind. Every check that is put upon this, is a check to industry which is the principal part of the wealth of every country. Take from man this spur and you make him one of the most indolent animals in nature/?/; the demands from appetite and the climate are easily supplied, and having no further calls upon him, he yawns, stretches himself in the sun, smokes his pipe, and remains a living proof that man is, by nature, a lazy beast.” Hobart to R. R. Livingston, November 15, 1779, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS.

37 Livingston to New York Committee of Safety, April 19, 1776, Force, Archives, 4th Ser., V, 989; Roosevelt to New York Convention, July 26, 1776, Jour. Prov. Cong., II, 297.

38 Livingston to Carter, July 21, 1777, Walter Livingston Letter Book, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS; Duane, to McKesson, John, November 22, 1777, Jour. Prov. Cong., I, 1091Google Scholar; Duane, to Clinton, , September 22, 1778, Public Papers of George Clinton, First Governor of New York (10 vols., Albany, 1899–1914), IV, 69.Google Scholar

39 McKinstry to Clinton, July 22, 1781, ibid., VII, 102; Parker to Duer, June 9, 1782, quoted in East, Business Enterprise, 118.

40 The Ulster petition contained 325 signatures. AJ, 2nd Session, 78, 89; Holt, John to Clinton, , April 15, 1780, Clinton Papers, V, 625.Google Scholar

41 Council of Safety, November 27, 28, December 15, 1777, Robert Livingston to Robert Benson, December 7, 1777, Heermane, Jacob to Council of Safety, November 21, 1777, Jour. Prov. Cong., I, 1088, 1090, 1100, II, 355, 457Google Scholar; Livingston, Robert to Huntington, Joshua, June 6, 13, August 28, 1777, Connecticut Historical Society Collections, XX, 62, 63, 67–68Google Scholar; Council of Safety to Livingston, , November 28, 1777, Cal. Hist. Mss., II, 308Google Scholar; Livingston, to Clinton, , January 8, 1778, Clinton Papers, II, 654–58Google Scholar; Egbert Benson to R. R. Livingston, December 3, 1777, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS.

42 Albany, Committee to Council of Safety, December 29, 1777, Jour. Prov. Cong., II, 351–52Google Scholar; Yates to Clinton, Clinton Papers, IV, 335 and sources cited in n. 40.

43 Morris to William Bingham, February 12, 1777, quoted in Bezanson, Prices and Inflation, 209; Ver Steeg, Robert Morris, 16 ff. See Morris's correspondence with Silas Deane for similar comments, NYHS Coll., XIX, 174, 233, 459, XX, 84. See also Wadsworth, Jeremiah to Clinton, , n.d., Clinton Papers, V, 470Google Scholar; Simeon Deane to Josiah Buck, April 17, 1780, CHS Coll, XXIII, 151; Bezanson, Prices and Inflation, 254; A. Bezanson, “Inflation and Controls, Pennsylvania, 1774–79,” Journal of Economic History, VIII, Supplement, 12–13 (hereafter cited as “Pa. Controls,” JEH).

44 One of the difficulties of determining profit rates lies in the ambiguity of the merchants' correspondence. A prime cost factor for those who bought from Europe was the necessity of paying in specie for their goods. These men included in their prices the cost of bills of exchange. Therefore when they spoke of selling at an advance of 150 per cent over the European invoice, a large portion of the markup represented the cost of bills of exchange. Although an advance of 100 per cent on many types of goods before the war covered the conversion to sterling, all other charges, and the profit margin, currency depreciation after 1776 probably contributed to the abandonment of this percentage. Since many New York entrepreneurs bought from Yankee merchants rather than from overseas, the prices paid to the New Englanders included the cost of bills of exchange. Consequently, when these Yorkers referred to their rate of profit, they meant their net gain. Harrington, New York Merchants, 99; Bezanson, Prices and Inflation, 33 and n.; Jensen, Arthur L., The Maritime Commerce of Colonial Philadelphia (Madison, 1963), 104–106.Google Scholar

Late in 1778 Walter engaged in a transaction to net $24,000 on the sale of 50 hogsheads of rum. Rate of profit was ca. 50 per cent. Walter to Henry Livingston, August 10, 1777, same to John Cochran, November 14, 1778, Walter Livingston Letter Book, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS.

45 Force, Archives, 4th Ser., III, 565, 1626. Price bought his pins from another merchant in New York rather than from a London exporter.

46 Johnston, Henry P. (ed.), The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay (4 vols., New York, 1890–1893), I, 47Google Scholar; Henry to Walter Livingston, January 14, March 10, May 24, June 10, 1777, Carter to Walter Livingston, July 21, 26, 1777, Livingston to, April 19, 1777, same to Carter, June 30, July 16, 22, 1777, Account of Rum, 1778, Walter Livingston Letter Book, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS.

47 John R. to R. R. Livingston, August 29, 1777, same to same, November 20, 1779, ibid. Lott seems to have purchased this salt at 30–40s. per bushel; transportation costs were 3–4s. 6d. a mile. His advance then was 46–340 per cent. Jour. Prov. Cong., I, 1098, II, 496, 498.

48 “The Real Farmer,” N.Y.J., January 18, February I, 1779; Dutchess Committee, ibid., August 16, 1779.

49 See Robert Boyd, Jr. to Pierre Van Cortlandt, November 18, 1776, Albany, Committee to Council of Safety, December 29, 1777, Jour. Prov. Cong., II, 230, 351–52Google Scholar; Yates, A. Jr., to Clinton, George, Clinton Papers, IV, 335.Google Scholar

50 N.Y.J., July 17, 1777.

51 Ibid.

52 Force, Archives, 4th Ser., III, 1321.

53 Jour. Prov. Cong., I, 148, 307; Force, Archives, 4th Ser., V, 278–79.

54 Jour. Prov. Cong., I, 799; Noble, Townsend & Co., Agreement, February 2, 1778, Clinton Pavers, II, 708–709; Hughes to Clinton, January 22, 1778, Lincoln, Charles Z. (ed.), State of New York, Messages from the Governors (11 vols., Albany, 1909), II, 19Google Scholar (hereafter cited as Gov. Messages). For other cases see Force, Archives, 4th Ser., III, 987, 1298, 1759–60; Jour. Proc. Cong., I, 181, 235, 241, 254, 340, 502.

55 Lewis to Clinton, October 28, 1778, Clinton to Lewis, November 1, 1778, Clinton Papers, IV, 218–19.

56 Livingston offered to supply a 12 ounce ration at 5s. 3d. The gross charge, therefore, on a hundredweight was £39 5s., but he purchased pork at £4 15s. per cwt. Even if all other charges amounted to 50 per cent of the prime cost, his expenses were no more than £7 3s. per cwt., leaving a net profit of over 700 per cent. Livingston to Schuyler, April 24, 1776, Schuyler Papers, NYPL.

57 Jour. Prov. Cong., II, 360–61; Hay to Clinton, February 1, 1778, Clinton to Hay, n.d., Clinton Papers, II, 712, 714, 715. For the difficulties in securing tar, Hughes to Clinton, June 16, 1781, ibid., VII, 27. For timber, Min. Albany Com., I, 537, 847, 917. For pork and beef, General S. H. Parsons to Clinton, March 16, 1778, Stephen Barnes to Jonathan Fitch, 10 June 1778, Jacob Cuyler to Clinton, June 16, 1778, Townsend, S. to Clinton, , August 29, 1780, Clinton Papers, III, 50, 445–46, 461–62, VI, 148, 149Google Scholar. For flour and wheat, Walter Livingston to Schuyler, October 19, 1775, Henry Glen to Schuyler, October 10, 1776, Schuyler Papers, NYPL; Henry Glen to Walter Livingston, August 19, 20, September 5, 1776, Glen to Avery, October 19, November 4, 1776, Force, Archives, 5th Ser., I, 1071, 1085, II, 185, 1132–33, III, 510; Clinton to Gates, March 4, 1778, Cuyler to Clinton, June 16, 1778, Hay to Clinton, June 17, 1778, Cuyler to Royal Flint, September 18, 1778, Flint to Clinton, September 25, October 4, 1778, James Reed to Clinton, November 16, 1778, Peter Colt to Clinton, February 4, March 16, 1779, Jeremiah Wadsworth to Clinton, March 16, 1779, Reed to Clinton, March 23, 1779, Philip Leek to Clinton, March 30, 1779, Clinton Major Ebenezer Purdy, April 5, 1779, same to McDougall, April 6, 1779, Cuyler to Clinton, April 12, 1779, Stephen Lush to Clinton, April 15, 1779, Clinton to Lush, April 17, 1779, J. Watson to Clinton, May 12, 1779, Clinton to Wadsworth, May 18, 1779, J. G. Tompkins to Flint, September 26, 1779, Clinton to Wadsworth, October 15, 1779, Samuel Huntington to Clinton, January 12, 1780, Trimble, George to Hay, , June 1, 1781, Clinton Papers, II, 841, III, 461–62, 463, IV, 89–91, 135, 136, 283, 544, 639–40, 661, 675, 691, 692, 717, 726, 732–33, 809–810, 834–35, V, 294–95, 319, 453, VII, 6–8Google Scholar; Robert Morris to Duer, December 27, 1780, Duer Papers, NYHS; Hay to the Whigs of New York, N. Y. P., February 1, 1781.

58 Jour. Prov. Cong., I, 343, 537, II, 203; committee report and report of Sir James Jay, October 30, November 4, 1778, February 13, 1779, Journal of the Senate, 2nd Session, 145, 153, 174 (hereafter cited as SJ); AJ, 1st Session, February 25, March 4, 1778, 62, 69, 2nd Session, February 10, 1779, 59–60; Cuyler to Clinton, January 30, 1780, Lush to P. R. Livingston, November 11, 1778, A. Yates to Clinton, January 9, 1779, Reed to McDougall, , March 8, 1779, Clinton Papers, II, 700, IV, 264, 265, 478, 623Google Scholar; John Holt to the Public, N.Y.J., July 17, 1777; McDougall to Parsons, January 9, 1779, McDougall Papers, NYHS; John Lamb to Henry Knox, January 27, 1780, Lamb Papers, NYHS.

59 Ludinton, Henry, Crane, Joseph Jr., Paddack, Jonathan, Townsend, Elijah to Council of Safety, December 3, 1776, Jour. Prov. Cong., II, 355Google Scholar; Schuyler to New York Convention, January 25, 1777, NYHS Coll., XII, 68–69; Convention to Schuyler, January 29, 1777, Resolution April 3, 1777, Schuyler to Convention February 1, 1777, Barclay, John to Convention, April 2, 1777, Jour. Prov. Cong., I, 793, 864, II, 394, 430Google Scholar. See also the case of Watts, Joshua, May 8, 1777, Min. Albany Com., II, 1096–1097.Google Scholar

60 Cuyler, to Clinton, , December 21, 1778, Clinton Papers, IV, 408.Google Scholar

61 The legal exchange for the Spanish dollar was 8s. Pemberton sold 100 dollars for 112½ in paper. The guinea at 37s. brought 4⅝ dollars, but Pemberton sold them for 5 dollars. See also the case of Van Vranken, M. R., March 17, 1778, Min. Albany Com., I, 432, 943, 944Google Scholar.

62 Livingston, Colonel Henry B. to Livingston, R. R., September 24, 1776, Revolutionary Letters of Importance: The Unpublished Correspondence of Robert R. Livingston (New York, 1918), no. 34Google Scholar; Lansing to New York Convention, January 9, 1777, Jour. Prov. Cong., II, 395. Another practice was to raise prices in paper higher than in specie. See Vranken's, Van case, March 18, 1778, Min. Albany Com., I, 944.Google Scholar

63 Gouverneur Morris also charged “engrossers” with partial responsibility for depreciation. “To the Quakers, etc.” by “An American,” 1779, quoted in Bolles, Albert S., The Financial History of the United States, from 1774 to 1789: Embracing the Period of the American Revolution (New York, 1879), 125–26.Google Scholar Duer to R. R. Livingston, May 28, 1777, Bancroft Transcripts: Livingston Papers, NYPL; Duer to Jay, May 28, 1777, Jay Papers, CUL; Johnston, Jay Corr., I, 139; Alexander, Duane, 142; Duane to Mitchell, February 9, 1780, Duane Papers, NYHS; Southern History Association Publications, VII, 179–80.

64 Petition of Creditors, Claverack, August 20, 1779, Gansevoort-Lansing Collection, NYPL; petition from Dutchess, 1780, Miscellaneous Mss: Dutchess County, NYSL; resolutions from Ulster County precincts, September 2, 1779, N.Y.P.; “The Real Farmer,” “A Friend to Common Sense,” “Unit,” “Printer to the Public,” N.Y.J., January 18, 1779, March 1, 1779, October 18, 1779, September 25, 1780; “Y.Z.”, N.Y.P., May 11, 1780.

65 June 19, 1780.

66 John Tayler to R. R. Livingston, April 9, 1780, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS; Holt, to Clinton, , April 15, 1780, Clinton Papers, V, 624.Google Scholar A similar manipulation by the Philadelphia merchants occurred in the fall of 1780. They had formally agreed to stabilize the exchange at 75 for 1, but immediately boosted the prices of their goods in terms of specie, causing resumption of depreciation. See Bezanson, Prices and Inflation, 50–51; John Sullivan to Meshech Weare, December 3, 1780, Duane to Washington, December 9, 1780, Burnett, Letters, V, 473, 478; James Madison to Joseph Jones, November 28, 1780, Hunt, Gaillard, ed., The Writings of James Madison (9 vols., New York, 1900–1910), I, 107Google Scholar; Oliver Wolcott to Jonathan Trumbull, December 18, 1780, Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, 7th Ser., III, 167 (hereafter cited as MHS Coll.); Joseph Reed to Charles Pettit and Clement Biddle, Pennsylvania Archives, 1st Ser., IX, 129 (hereafter cited as Pa. Archives).

67 Hamilton to Duane, September 3, 1780, Hamilton, John C., ed., The Works of Alexander Hamilton (7 vols., New York, 1851), I, 164Google Scholar (hereafter cited as Works).

68 Duane, to Livingston, R. R., June 24, 1777, Burnett, Letters, II, 387Google Scholar; Morris, to Jay, , April 28, 1778, Johnston, Jay Corr., I, 177–78Google Scholar; Jay Papers, CUL; Floyd to McKesson, February 18, 1779, McKesson Papers, NYHS. See also Philip Livingston, Duane and Duer to Council of Safety, June 19, 1777, Council resolution of December 2, 1777, Council of Safety to New York Delegates, December 17, 1777, Jour. Prov. Cong., I, 980, 1092, 1102; Clinton to legislature, January 29, 1779, Assembly resolution of February 7, 1780, AJ, 2nd Session, 48, 3rd Session, 97; Pye, David to Wisner, Henry, January 21, 1777, Cal. Hist. Mss., I, 604Google Scholar; Holt to the Public, July 17, 1777, “The Real Farmer,” February 15, March 29, 1779, N.Y.J.; McDougall to Schuyler, March 7, 1776, Schuyler Papers, NYPL; Schuyler to Duane, December 12, 1779, Duane Papers, NYHS; William Malcolm to Clinton, March 3, 1778, Abraham Yates, Jr. to Clinton, January 9, 1779, Peter Colt to Clinton, February 27, 1779, Livingston, R. R. to Clinton, , April 2, 1783, Clinton Papers, II, 834, IV, 477–78, 589–90, VIII, 110Google Scholar. Latter in R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS.

69 Schuyler to Washington, August 6, 1775, Force, Archives, 4th Ser., III, 50; Terbos, to — February 20, 1777, Jour. Prov. Cong., II, 362Google Scholar; Senate committee report, October 30, 1778, resolution of November 4, 1778, SJ, 2nd Session, 145, 153.

70 Clinton, to Morris, , December 18, 1778, Clinton Papers, IV, 404.Google Scholar See also Schuyler to Jay, February 1, 1777, Jay Papers, CUL; report of Ulster County meeting, February 15, 1779, N.Y.J.

71 February 8, 1779, SJ, 2nd Session, 166. For other examples of various species of misconduct see the charges against Lewis, Francis, May 2, 1776, Jour. Prov. Cong., I, 428Google Scholar; case of Walters, Thomas and Conklin, Elias, February 4, 1778, Min. Albany Com., I, 918Google Scholar; Jay to Washington, November 19, 1778, Peter Colt to Clinton, February 27, 1779, Clinton, to McDougall, , April 6, 1779, Clinton Papers, IV, 300–301, 593, 693Google Scholar, John Lawrence to Henry Glen, September 22, 1778, Henry Glen Papers, NYPL.

72 For William Duer see Davis, Joseph S., Essays in the Earlier History of American Corporations (2 vols., Cambridge, 1917), I, 127.Google Scholar For Livingston see East, Business Enterprise, 104; Livingston to Schuyler, October 20, 1775, April 24, 1776, September, 1776, October 27, 1776, Schuyler Papers, NYPL; Walter Livingston to R. R. Livingston, August 25, 1776, Unpublished Corr. R. R. Livingston, No. 60 and Burnett, Letters, II, 85; New York delegates to Walter Livingston, April 17, 1776, Livingston Papers, NYHS; TrumbuII to Gates, October 11, 1776, Force, Archives, 5th Ser., II, 995.

73 Where kinship and political influence did not exist, recourse might be had to other means. John R. Livingston asked his brother the Chancellor to persuade French Consul John Holker to award his company certain contracts. As quid pro quo John authorized the Chancellor to offer Holker a one-third interest in his company, explaining that all French and Spanish officials, from the general to the corporal, had their price. April 30, 1783, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS.

74 Clinton, to Morris, G., December 18, 1778, Clinton Papers, IV, 404–405.Google Scholar See also report of Senator SirJay, James, February 13, 1779, SJ, 2nd Session, 174Google Scholar; R. R. Livingston to Washington, January 14, 1778, Bancroft Transcripts; Livingston Papers, NYPL; Jay to G. Morris, April 14, 1778, quoted in Monaghan, , John Jay (New York, 1935), 104Google Scholar; same to same, April 29, 1778, Johnston, Jay Corr., I, 181. For other examples of assorted types of misconduct see the case of Peter R. Livingston, June 7, 11, December 17, 1777, Samuel Ogden, June 10, 1777, Major Henry Schenck, January 7, 1778, L'Hommedieu, Ezra to New York Convention, February 18, 1777, Jour. Prov. Cong., I, 960, 961, 1098, 1103, 1111–12, II, 358Google Scholar.

75 Laws of the State of New York Passed at the Sessions of the Legislature Held in the Years, 1777–88, 2nd Session, c.22 (hereafter cited as Laws).

76 East, Business Enterprise, 34, 180, 182; Barck, O. T., New York City during the War for Independence (New York, 1931), 130, 133–34Google Scholar; Mather, Frederick G., The Refugees of 1776 from Long Island to Connecticut (Albany, 1913), 94–96.Google Scholar

77 Nonexportation resolution, November 11, 1777, Jour. Prov. Cong., I, 1077; committee report, October 30, 1778, report, November 4, 1778; report of SirJay, James, February 13, 1779, SJ, 2nd Session, 145, 153, 174Google Scholar; Laws, 2nd Session, c.28, 5th Session, c.39, 6th Session, c.7. See also the account of the Dutchess County Meeting, August 17, 1782, protesting illegal trade. N.Y.P., August 22, 1782.

78 McDougall stated that cattle were driven to the enemy “by all ages and sexes.” McDougall to Clinton, December 28, 1778, General Heath to Clinton, December 27, 31, 1779, Clinton, to Horton, Squire, June 25, 1781, Clinton Papers, IV, 430–31, V, 435, 438, VII, 47Google Scholar.

79 Clinton to Council of Safety, November 6, 1777, same to G. Morris, or Duane, March 4, 1778, same to Gates, March 4, 1778, McDougall to Clinton, January 20, 1779, ibid., II, 499, 837, 841–42, IV, 510–11. The latter contains the interesting details of the operation of the indirect traffic via New England.

80 J. R. Livingston to Samuel Hake, November, 1778, Agreement, August 12, 1778, Statement of amount brought by sale of Hake's goods, n.d., ibid., V, 298–99, 367; J. R. to R. R. Livingston, March 29, 1780, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS. For other cases of illegal trade see Watson's, Jacob case, December, 1776, Force, Archives, 5th Ser., III, 1156–57, 1205–1206Google Scholar; report of Dumond, John and Sleght, Henry, January 14, 1777, Min. Albany Com., I, 659Google Scholar; report of Benson, Robert, September 8, 1777, Jour. Prov. Cong., I, 1058Google Scholar; Hughes to Clinton, December 16, 1777, affidavit of Hobart, Joshua, July 17, 1781, Clinton Papers, V, 579–80, VII, 77–78Google Scholar.

81 East, Business Enterprise, 121–22, 180; Hamilton, to Morris, R., August 13, 1782, Henry C. Lodge (ed.), The Works of Alexander Hamilton (12 vols., New York, 1904), IX, 272.Google Scholar

82 “An American,” February 27, 1780, Pennsylvania Packet (hereafter cited as Pa. Packet). For the various business techniques of profiting from inflation see East, Business Enterprise, 216; Jensen, New Nation, 182–83; Bezanson, Prices and Inflation, 28; Murray, , Samson & Co. to Rodgers Townsend, December 4, 1776, Jour. Prov. Cong., I, 789.Google Scholar The legislature in 1786 and 1787 bailed out holders of state certificates which had been issued by supply officers in lieu of money. The new laws made them negotiable and payable to bearer. Laws, 9th Session, c.19, 10th Session, c.51; AJ, 9th Session, 95.

83 Cochran, N.Y. in Confed., 189. On the general practice of buying Loan Office certificates, see East, Business Enterprise, 40–43. Walter Livingston Account Book, Cash Disbursed, 1775–87, R. R. Livingston Collection. For other examples see J. R. to R. R. Livingston, August 29, 1777, R. R. Livingston to Lord Ranelagh, November 2, 1777, Henry Livingston to Walter Livingston, June 4, 1779, J. R. to R. R. Livingston, April 30, 1783, ibid.; receipt of Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, May 21, 1779, Van Rensselaer-Fort Papers, NYPL. New York had a loan office debt of about £221,000 after depreciation. AJ, 11th Session, 24.

84 R. H. Livingston to J. R. Livingston, November 9, 1778, Livingston Family Papers, NYHS; Carpenter Wharton to Schuyler, October 5, 1776, Schuyler Papers, NYPL; R. R. Livingston to Lord Ranelagh, November 2, 1777, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS; East, Business Enterprise, 321. On loyalist personalty see Yoshpe, Disposition, 14–17; Flick, A. C., The American Revolution in New York (Albany, 1926), 221Google Scholar; Flick, Loyalism, 141–142; Flick, A. C. (ed.), A History of the State of New York (10 vols., New York, 1933–1937), IV, 126Google Scholar; Cochran, N.Y. in Confed., 60; Treasurer's Accounts, 1775–78, NYHS.

In 1784 the legislature provided for the purchase of new lands with revolutionary paper. Laws, 7th Session, c.60.

85 Yoshpe, Disposition, 22–25, 26, n.41; Cochran, N.Y. in Confed., 60, 61; Flick, Am. Rev., 221; Flick, Hist. N.Y., IV, 127; Ellis, Landlords and Farmers, 45; Notice of Commissioners of Forfeiture for Eastern and Western Districts, N.Y.P., January 11, 1781; N.Y. in Rev. Supplement, 260–261, 269; Catherine S. Crary, “Forfeited Lands in the Western District of New York,” New York History, XXXV: 242.

86 Yoshpe, Disposition, 85–88, 178–86.

87 Financial Statement, October 1, 1781, Clinton Papers, VII, 366; Treasurer's Accounts, AJ, 11th Session, 25; Extract from Treasurer's Book, May 10, 1781 and Statement of Laws for Raising Money, August 1, 1782, Hamilton Papers (microfilm), NYSL; Laws, 1st Session, c.17, 2nd Session, c.16, 3rd Session, c.27, 35, 47, 4th Session, c.57.

88 See the Discussion of this point in East, Business Enterprise, chapter X. J. R. Livingston told his brother that he and his two partners possessed assets of £100,000 Sterling. J. R. to R. R. Livingston, April 30, 1783, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS.

89 Lodge, Hamilton Works, IX, 271–73; Cochran, N.Y. in Confed, 130 incorrectly places the adverse balance at $120,000.

90 Account Book of Comfort Sands & Co., for the Moving Army Contract, box 15, R. R. Livingston Collection, NYHS.

91 J. R. to R. R. Livingston, July 17, 1782, ibid.

92 “Honestus,” N.Y.P., February 19, 1784.