"Long in the Hand and Altogether Fruitless": The Pennsylvania Salt Works and Salt-Making on the New Jersey Shore during the American Revolution

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Michael S. Adelberg

Abstract

The American Revolution brought about shortages of important commodities in the rebelling colonies. The British empire was built on mercantile principles: colonies were plantations expected to produce a small number of goods desired by the mother country—that is, Caribbean sugar, Indian tea—and serve as cap-tive markets for the mother country's shipping and artisans. While the maturing Thirteen Colonies did not perfectly conform to the mercantile model, they were still dependent on a variety of imports on the eve of the American Revolution. The British blockade that accompanied the rebellion created severe shortages of needed commodities in the rebelling colonies. As documented by economic historians such as John McCusker, Russell Menard, and Richard Buel, salt was primary among those commodities most missed by Americans at the start of the Revolution.

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