This study examines a frontier businessman and the evolution of his business enterprises in conjunction with the emergence of northern Indiana from its frontier period to the time that it became a settled agricultural region with strong ties to the national economy. The subject is Allen Hamilton, an Irish immigrant who settled in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1823 and remained here until his death in 18514. Hamilton's involvement with the affairs of the state government, the Miami and Potawatomi Indians, retailing, land speculation, the promotion and construction of the Wabash and Erie Canal and numerous plank road and railroad projects, the fur trade and the Indian trade, the second State Bank of Indiana and the creation of the Hamilton ink involved him deeply in the economic development and the political affairs of Indiana and, to a lesser extent, of the North.This study of Hamilton's rise to wealth parallels the development of Indiana and is intertwined with it. At nearly all points in his career Hamilton achieved financial success by meeting the needs of the developing region. He functioned at first as a fur trade .end Indian trader, meeting the needs of the Indians as well as the large Eastern fur merchants. Toward the end of his career he was primarily a banker and promoter of internal improvements, serving both his own interests and those of the expanding white population of northern Indiana for credit and adequate transportation facilities.In order to compete successfully as a businessman, Hamilton found it necessary to become involved with the politics of the region and at times was himself a successful candidate for local and state offices. Generally, however, his political activities were confined to the support of influential men from northern Indiana, several of whom were his business partners. The ability to form judicious alliances which took advantage of both political influence and entrepreneurial talent was a chief factor of Hamilton's success. His business partnerships demonstrated the evolution of his activities and his partners included the most important men in that section of the state. These partnerships were flexible, allowing for significant alteration as new opportunities (such as the milling of wheat) presented themselves and older avenues to wealth (such as the fur trade) dried up. As Hamilton outgrew the older partnerships he created others that reflected not only the need for a different type of expertise in his partner but also his own changed economic, social and political situation. One of the consistencies of Hamilton's partnerships was their diversification which made them more fluid in nature and more capable of capitalizing on new opportunities.Hamilton's rise to wealth was significant not only to himself. His wealthy Irish origins had set for him a model to which the wealthy should aspire. Correspondingly, he was a social leader in Fort Wayne and nurtured in his offspring a respect for the highest of goals in education and civic responsibility. He was a patrician and a symbol not only of the opportunities of the West, but also of the fact that the West was far from being an area inhabited by social equals. Indeed, Hamilton's extensive commitment to land speculation was more than simply a means ofachieving wealth. The possession of large tracts of land symbolized, for Hamilton, the recreation of his family's former status in Ireland, powerfully augmenting the traditional status gained through land ownership in the United States.Through Allen Hamilton one may view not only the development of Indiana in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, but also a pattern of economic maturation that was often experienced in areas far to the east and west of the state.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/181871 |
| Date | 03 June 2011 |
| Creators | Wetmore, Allyn C. |
| Contributors | Easton, Hamilton P. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | iv, 360 leaves : ill., maps ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-us-in |
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