“The American is always bargaining. He always has one bargain afoot, another just finished. All that he has, all that he sees, is merchandise in his eyes. At the bottom, then, of all that an American does, is money, beneath every word, money.” So said a French visitor, Michael Chevalier. How well does this explain the successes, weaknesses, failures, accomplishments, advances, and crises that befell Americans from 1787 to 1865?

“The American is always bargaining. He always has one bargain afoot, another just finished. All that he has, all that he sees, is merchandise in his eyes. At the bottom, then, of all that an American does, is money, beneath every word, money.” So said a French visitor, Michael Chevalier. How well does this explain the successes, weaknesses, failures, accomplishments, advances, and crises that befell Americans from 1787 to 1865?