Publication Date

12-1-2007

Degree Program

Department of History

Degree Type

Master of Arts and Letters

Abstract

This thesis examines the effects of the Embargo of 1807 on Louisville and its surrounding areas. The purpose of this study is to discover if the interior suffered to the same degree as other regions of the country as a result of Thomas Jefferson's trade restrictions. Louisville is the focus area because it is not only representative of the Ohio Valley and the interior but also because it marked the end of civilization and the beginning of the frontier. Distinctions between class, economic status, and occupation between the inhabitants of Jefferson County are also observed. This particular approach leads to an examination into the true nature of the frontier itself. Archival material and extensive tax records are used to show that The Embargo of 1807 initiated a series of events that not only created unintended consequences, both positive and negative in nature, on Louisville's frontier economy but also laid the foundation for its future.

Disciplines

Economics | History | United States History

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