An Independent Means: The American Revolution and the Rise of a National Economy

Abstract

Scholars endlessly debate about whether the economy of Britain's North American colonies had become autonomous on the eve of Independence and whether and when it could accurately be termed capitalistic, but they tend to agree that the colonies had their share of acquisitive entrepreneurs who understood the commodity value of money and shaped their behavior accordingly. Although this point of convergence ultimately leaves the issue of American economic independence unresolved, it strongly supports the position that a transition to capitalism preceded the Revolution.