I16 SPECIALPROVIDENCEItwaspartlya matteroftrade.Asa marketforAmericangoodsandas
a sourceformanufacturedgoods,theimportanceofGreatBritaintothe
youngrepublicisimpossibletoexaggerate.In 1790 theUnitedKing-
domabsorbed 35 percentofAmerica'stotalexports;onehundredyears
laterthatproportionhadrisento52.2percenUGreatBritainremained
thelargestsinglepurchaserofAmericanexportsuntil I946,6whenit
wasovertakenbyCanada.(IftheBritishEmpirehadheldtogether,it
wouldtodayincomparablybethemostimportanteconomicpartnerof
theUnitedStates.ToCanadianandBritishtradeflows,addthosewith
theGulfstates,Nigeria,HongKong,Singapore,Australia,andNew
Zealand.TheBritishEmpirewouldbeourmostimportantsourceofoil,
andwouldfarsurpassMexicoasa tradingpartnerandJapanasa source
ofcapital.)
BeyondthistheUnitedStatesandGreatBritainenjoyeda financial
relationshipthatgrewsteadilycloserduringthenineteenthcentury.The
UnitedStatesbecameincreasinglyimportantasa sourceofrawmaterials
andfoodstuffsforBritain,asa safetyvalveforimmigrationfromIreland,
andasanoutletforforeigninvestment.
ThegrowingimportanceofBritishinvestmentintheUnitedStates
createda strongpro-AmericanpartyinBritainanda strongpro-British
partyintheUnitedStates,contributinginturntothecontinuanceof
goodrelationsandfurtherimprovingtheclimateforeconomiccoopera··
tion. Thustwomembersofthe influential Baringfamily ofBritish
bankersmarriedmembersofPhiladelphia'sprominentBinghamfamily
inthelateeighteenthcentury.TheHouseofBaringbecametheAmeri-
cangovernment'smostimportantforeignbanker,arrangingthefinancial
transactionsthatpaidfortheLouisianaPurchaseandcontinuingtohan-
dleAmericanfinancialaffairsinGreatBritainduringtheWarofI8I2.
TheBaringsinvestedheavilyintheUnitedStates,purchasingmorethan
onemillionacresofMaineland;inI840itwouldbetheIStLordAsh-
burton,bornAlexanderBaring,whoworkedouta compromisesettle-
ment overthe boundary betweenMaine and New Brunswick with
DanielWebster.
AfterthecrisisofI837,inwhichnineAmericanstatesdefaultedon
theirdebts,itwasagaintheHouseofBaringthathelpedtheoffenders
resume regularpayments, and that helped persuade nervous British
investorsthatAmericanmarketswereonceagainsoundinvestments.
ThemostimportantbankingfirmintheUnitedStateswastheHouse
ofMorgan,a fullytransatlanticinstitution,withitsprincipalofficesin