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Biography of Nathan AppletonName: Nathan AppletonBirth Date: October 6, 1779 Death Date: 1861 Place of Birth: New Ipswich, New Hampshire, United States Nationality: American Gender: Male Occupations: businessman, lobbyist, congressman Nathan Appleton As a leading member of the New England mercantile-manufacturing community, Nathan Appleton (1779-1861) was instrumental in shaping sound institutions for trade, production, and banking in the early economy of the United States.Nathan Appleton was born on Oct. 6, 1779, in New Ipswich, N.H. He attended the common schools and the local academy in preparation for college study. At the age of 15 he was admitted to Dartmouth College but decided instead to enter business. He accompanied his elder brother Samuel to Boston and learned bookkeeping in order to work as a clerk in Samuel's mercantile house. When he reached 21 in 1800, he became a full partner in the business, which continued until 1809. In the following year he joined his brother Eben and another merchant, Daniel P. Parker, in a similar venture, which prospered until it was dissolved in 1813.That year marked Appleton's first move into manufacturing; he invested a portion of his mercantile …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…issues, writing newspaper articles, making speeches, and publishing pamphlets on money and banking, tariffs, and the need for the development of America's manufacturing sector. As a director of the Boston Bank, he worked toward a conservative, stable banking system, always opposing the inflationary and speculative operations of banks in the backcountry. He was a strong nationalist and a firm believer in Hamiltonian policies for the young nation. Appleton was among the influential men who did so much to shape the basic institutions of the United States prior to the Civil War. Further Reading The best source on Appleton is Robert C. Winthrop, Memoir of the Hon. Nathan Appleton, LL. D. (1861; repr. 1969), which contains long sections of Appleton's "Sketches of Autobiography." Also helpful is Kenneth Wiggins Porter, The Jacksons and the Lees: Two Generations of Massachusetts Merchants, 1765-1844 (2 vols., 1937).Gregory, Frances W., Nathan Appleton, merchant and entrepreneur, 1779-1861, Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1975. |