The "Sharper" Image: Yankee Peddlers, Southern Consumers, and

The "Sharper"Image: YankeePeddlers,Southern
Consumers, and the Market Revolution
JosephT. Rainer•
American
Studies
Program
Colkge
ofIVilliamfly'Ma•y
As theIndustrial
Revolution
wasgearing
upin NewEnglandshopsand
factories
in theearlynineteenth
century,
theincreased
production
bymanufacturers of clocks,tinware,and other Yankee "notions" found a market outlet
throughthousands
of youngmenwhopeddledthesewaresacross
the entire
UnitedStates.
Yankeepeddlers
werefamiliarfigures
on theAmerican
landscape
in the firstfour decades
of the nineteenth
century.TimothyDwightnotedin
1821howYankeetinpeddlers
boxedthecompass
of theyoungrepublic:
Everyinhabitedpartof theUnitedStatesisvisitedby thesemen.
I have seenthem on the peninsula
of CapeCod and in the
neighborhood
of LakeErie,distantfromeachothermorethan
sixhundredmiles.Theymaketheirwayto Detroit,fourhundred
milesfarther,to Canada,to Kentucky,and,if I mistakenot, to
New Orleans and St. Louis.
Yankeeclockpeddlers
practiced
theirown"ManifestDestiny"to sellclockson
the veryfringesof Anglo-American
settlement.
Shortlyafterhearing,in June
1836,of thecaptureof SantaAnnaat thebattleof SanJacinto,clockpeddler
JohnCasewroteto hispartnerHiramBarberthatTexaswouldoffer "a field
for speculation."
Indeed,clockpeddlers
workedanyand all marketswithin
theirreach.TwoMassachusetts
peddlers,
Washington
Stevens
andElihuWhite,
carried
Samuel
Terryclocks
to theislandof Cubain 1834[Dwight,1969,vol.2,
p. 33;S.Terry,3/24/1834;Bates,6/1/1836].
The Yankee peddlingsystemwas a manifestation
of the "market
revolution"that took placein the quartercenturyafter the War of 1812.
Yankeeentrepreneurs
adaptedthe timewornpracticeof peddlingto distribute
theoutputof New England's
nascent
industries,
overcoming
thelimitations
of
the earlynineteenth-century
transportation
infrastructure
and cumbersome
bankingfacilitiesto distributetheirproductsin virtuallyeverymarketin the
country.Youngmenin theirearlytwenties
who peddledfor wageswerethe
mainsource
of laborin thislong-distance
distribution
system.
The exploitative
natureof the contractual
relationship
betweenthe youngpeddlers
and their
• I thankthe AmericanAntiquarian
Society,the VirginiaHistoricalSociety,and the
Massachusetts
Historical
Society
forsupport.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC HISTORY, Volumetwenty-six,
no. 1, Fall 1997.
Copyright
¸1997 bytheBusiness
HistoryConference.
ISSN0894-6825.
27
28 / JOSEPHT. RAINER
employers
pushed
theseitinerant
hawkers
into"overreaching"
theircustomers.
Giventhelonglastingsuccess
of Yankeepeddlers
in the South,mostSouthernersprobablyaccepted
their presence
in tradeand socialrelations.Some
southerners,
however,didnot appreciate
theYankeepeddleror his"notions."
Nullifierssawthe Yankeepeddlingsystemas an invasionof "Commercial
Scythians"
intentonprostrating
theagricultural
Southundera yokeof Yankee
manufactures.
The relations
betweenyankeepeddlers
andtheiremployers
and
southern
consumers
werebothmoldedby marketforcesandshaped
themarket
itself;Yankeepeddlers
werebothagents
andauthors
of themarketrevolution.
Investigating
the business
andthe reception
of Yankeepeddlers
reveals
how
Americans
behavedin the newworldof marketrelations
andhowtheyreacted
to thespreadof national
marketnetworks
intolocalexchange
networks.
New England's
tin peddlingsystemdatesbackto the 1740s,whenan
Irish immigrant,WilliamPattison,set up a tin shopin Berlin,Connecticut.
Pattisonmade more tinware than the householdsof Berlin demanded,so he
hiredpeddlers
to hawkhismerchandise
in neighboring
towns.By theturnof
the century,the tinwareindustrywas reachingmarketsoutsideof New
England.In the searchfor new markets,tinwaremanufacturers
set up
temporary
tinsmithshopsin townsandcitiesacrossthe continent,
wheretin
workersmadewaresto supplythepeddlers
hiredto sellthe stock.A tinsmith
shop had been established
in Charleston,
SouthCarolinaby 1810. New
Englandmanufacturers
established
tin depotsin Baltimore,Columbia,New
Bern,Norfolk,Petersburg,
Philadelphia,
Richmond,
Savannah,
andmanyother
locations.
Thesetin depotsoperatedaboutninemonthsout of the yearfrom
fall to spring;when summerarrived,the proprietor,the peddlers,and the
tinsmiths
closedshopandreturned
to New Englandandusually
to agricultural
pursuits.
Throughits complement
of twentyor thirtypeddlers,
a tin depot
serveda broad hinterlandclientelewith tin pots,pans,cups,patentovens,
candlesticks,lanterns,graters,and'otherutensils.Peddlersmadenumerous
tripsbackto thetin depotto restocktheiroutfitsof tinwareandothernotions
[Keir, 1913,p. 256;DeVoe, 1968;pp. 13, 24; Dwight,1969,vol. 2, pp. 33-34;
Filley;R.U.Peck;Alderman,
1992,p. 20;PeckFamily].
Like antebellumalchemists,
Yankeepeddlersturnedtin into silver.
Epaphroditus
Peckclearedone hundreddollars"all in Silver"on a peddling
expedition
aroundColumbia,
SouthCarolina
in 1810.A peddlerby the name
of Holmesleft the Petersburg,
Virginiatin depotof Richardand Benjamin
Wilcoxin 1819witha loadof tinwarewortheightydollarsandreturned
with
onehundred
andninetydollars,
including
eighty-two
dollars
in "Spanish
Mills."
Yankeepeddlers
alsotransformed
tin into silverin a lesslegitimate
mann'r,
lobbingoff articlesmadeof tin for silver.A popularstorywasof peddlers'
selling
"silver"sidesaddles
thatwereactually
trimmed
withtin.WilliamAndros
Alcott,who peddledtinwarein Virginiain the early1820s,met a womanin
SuffolkCounty,Virginiawhopaida Yankeepeddlertwelvedollarsfor a silver
toddystick.If thetin toddystick"everhadanysilveraboutit," wroteAlcott,
"thevalueof thewholecouldnot havebeentwenty-five
cents"[PeckFamily,
12/5/1810;Wilcox,4/17/1819;Greene,1833,p. 26;Alcott,1851,p. 111].
THE "SHARPER" IMAGE OF YANKEE PEDDLERS / 29
Within five yearsafter Eli Terry developedthe machineryto mass
producewoodenworksclocksin 1807,peddlerswere sellingthe clocksin
southemmarkets.Initially,the woodenclockworks
weresoldwithoutcases;
hungup theywereknownasa "wagon the wall."Clockmanufacturers
were
not able to relocatetheir shopsin southemcitiesas finwaremakersdid,
because
the machinery
wasbulkyand requireda powersource.New England
cabinet makers relocated to southern towns and cities to case the works and
sell the clocks.Z. Bronsonmade casesin a shop at the courthousein
Mecklenburg,
Virginiafor clockworksshipped
to Virginiaby Lamson,Sperry
& Co.,clockmakers
of Waterbury,
Connecticut.
Bronson
predicted
"handsome
proffits"from clockpeddlingin 1812.Bronsonclaimedthat "clocksafforda
greaterproffitthananythingI cansell,"andsaidthatif he had"onegoodman
to carrythemaboutthe countryI makeno doubtbut a greatmanymightbe
sold"[Lamson,11/2/1812].By 1812GideonRobertsof Bristol,Connecticut
wasshipping
clockmovements
in bulkto Richmond,
Virginia,wherehissons
assembled
andsoldtall caseclocksin the surrounding
countryside.
This saved
the expenseof shippingcompleted,
casedclocks[Buelland Bart, n.d., p. 6].
Chauncey
and NobleJeromeestablished
a clock"factory"in Richmondin
1835.The "factory"wasactuallyan assembly
plantwhereclockmovements,
cases,
andfacesmanufactured
in Bristol,Connecticut
weremadeintocomplete
clocks.The Jerome's
motivation
wasnot to lessenthe expense
of shipping
completed
clocksto Virginia,butto avoidVirginia's
taxof onehundreddollars
per countyperyearon peddlers
of "foreign"clocks[Jerome,
1860,p. 54].
Middleto upper-class
Yankeeentrepreneurs
started
clockpeddling
companieson theirown capital(or credit),or entereda contractual
relationship
with a clockmaker
to sellclocks.Independent
peddler-entrepreneurs
bought
lotsof ten or twentyclocksto sellon theirown,but mostYankeeclockswere
soldthroughthe largefmms[S.Terry,11/23/1825].In a givenyear,a clock
manufacturer
soldhundreds
of clocks
to a peddling
business
on six-to twelvemonthcredit.One of the partnersin the peddlingconcernactedas agent,
directing
the clockmanufacturer
on thenumberandstyles
of clocksto ship
andwhereto sendthem.AllenCasewastheagentof Gunn,Mattoon,Gilbert
& Company,
a clockpeddling
firmbasedin early1838in Lexington,
Virginia.
Typically,a shipment
of Eli TerryJr. clocksbeganits trip from Terryville,
Connecticut,
to Lexington,Virginia,aboarda wagonwhichtook them to a
forwarding
agentin New Haven.Therethe agentinsuredthe clocksandsent
them on to an agentin New York City.From New York the clockswere
shipped
to Charles
M. Mitchell,probably
a forwarding
agentor merchant,
of
Richmond.
The clocksfinallyendedup in thehandsof SimonW. Gunnin
Lexington,who distributedthem to the companypeddlers[E. Terry,
12/12/1837,2/14/1838].SethWheelercontracted
withChauncy
andLawson
C. Ivesto selltheirclocks
in Kentucky
in thelate1830sandearly1840s.If the
Ohioriverwasopento traffic,C. & L.C. Ivesshipped
theirclocksfromBristol,
Connecticut,
to New York City, to Baltimore,to Wheeling,to Maysville,
Kentucky.In winter the clockswent from New York, to New Orleans,to
Louisville,
Kentucky.Fromhisheadquarters
in Paris,Kentucky,
Wheelerkept
30 / JOSEPHT. RAINER
t•ackof receipts
andexpenses,
paidpeddlers
andallocated
clocksto them.In
1838,forinstance,
Wheelerdisbursed
aboutseventy-five
to onehundred
clocks
to eachof his six peddlers,four hundredand sixty-eight
clocksin total
[Wheeler,11/5/1836, 12/3/1836, 1/13/1837,3/4/1837, 1/8/1838]. Peddling
clocksbecameanindustry
in itself.A farmerin Orangeburg,
SouthCarolina,
in
1825described
themultipleservices
whichclockpeddling
gaveriseto:
theseclockswereintxoduced
by pedlarsfrom Connecticut,
and
in succeeding
yearstheybroughtfreshsupplies
accompanied
by
cases,
statingthatthe clockswouldbe injuredby the dustand
moistureof the atmosphere;
anotherwould passalongwho
'cleaned
clocks,'
andgeta jobof everymanwhoownedone;and,
lastly,one wouldgo the roundsbushingthe pivot-holes
with
brass,after which the machinewas thoughtto be complete
[Schwaab,
1973,vol. 1, pp. 184-5].
By the 1810sclockmakers
couldmanufacture
a shelfclockfor five
dollars.
Yankeepeddlers
soldtheseclocksin theSouthat enormous
advances.
A fictionalclockpeddlerin a newspaper
storypaidtwo dollarsandfifty cents
for eachof his clocks,"on whichhe expected
to makea profitof whathe
calledtenper cent,thatis ten timesasmuchastheycost."Chauncey
Jerome
heardthathisBronzeLooking-Glass
clock"soldin Mississippi
andLouisiana
ashighasonehundredandonehundredandfifteendollars,
whichwasa good
advanceon the first cost."Southernconsumers
had no gaugeas to the fair
price of suchcommodities,
and Yankeepeddlerstook advantage
of their
naiket•,asaninterviewwitha SouthCarolinaplanterin 1843attests:
'WhatdoyouthinkI gavefor that?'askedanignorantplanterin
Sumpterdistrict,whilepointingto a Connecticut
woodendock
whichstoodupona shelfin the cornerof the room.'I don't
know,'wasmyanswer;
'twentydollars,
or verylikelytwenty-five!'
'Twenty-five
dollars,
stranger!'
repliedtheplanter;
'why,whatdoyou
mean?Come,guessfair and I'll tell you true!'I answered
again
thattwenty-five
dollars
wasa highpricefor sucha clock,asI had
often seenthemsoldfor a quarterof that sum.The man was
astonished
'Stranger,'
saidhe,'I gaveonehundredandforty-four
dollarsfor thatclock,andthoughtI gotit cheapat that!Let me
tellyouhowit was.We hadalwaysusedsun-dials
hereabout,
till
twelveor fourteen
yearsago,whena mancamealongwithclocks
to sell.I thoughtat firstI wouldn'tbuyone,but afterhaggling
aboutthepricefor a while,he agreedto takesixteendollarsless
thanwhathe asked,for his sellingpricewasone hundredand
sixtydollars;
andasI hadjustsoldmycottonat thirty-four
cents,
I concluded
to strikea bargain.It's a powerfulclock,but I
reckonI gavea heapof moneyfor it!' [Schwaab,
1973,vol. 2,
p. 330].
THE "SHARPER" IMAGE OF YANKEE PEDDLERS / 31
In someregionsat certainperiodsof time, competitionamongclock
peddlersdrovepricesdownwaM.DavidBell soldclocksin Tennessee
in 1824
forwhichhepaid$3.25apiece
for aslittleaseightdollars
perclock[Leavenworth,
2/7/1824]. Milo Holcombnotedthat clockpeddlerswere "very thick" in
southwestern
Pennsylvania
andwestemVirginiain 1831,buthadconfidence
in
overcoming
the competition:
"wehavesomechampions
in ouxcompany
and
wecandoouxpartof thebusiness"
[Holcomb,
1/29/1831].Oneof Holcomb's
competitors,
perhaps,
wasFrederick
Kellogg.He alsocomplained
thatwestem
Pennsylvania
was "overrun with pedlarswhichaxesellingtheir clocksfor
whateverthey can get" [Harrison,11/11/1831].By the mid-1830smany
markets of the United States had been filled with wooden works clocks. A.L.
Brown found the market saturated in Louisiana in 1834. Around this time
Connecticut
clockmanufacturers
beganmassproducing
clockswith brass
movements,
whichrevitalizedthe clockpeddlingbusiness.
Browndiscovered
thatbrassclockswere"a verygoodarticle"in Louisiana
andcouldbe soldfor
from fortyto seventy
dollarseachon a creditof nineto twelvemonths[Lewis,
5/12/1834]. SethWheelerandhis peddlers
soldhundreds
of brassclocksin
Kentuckyfrom 1836to 1841;in overhalfthetransactions,
customers
tradedin
an old woodenshelfclockin partialpaymentfor the brassclock.From
sundials,
to caseless
"wagson thewall"to cased
woodenworksclocksto brass
worksclocks,
Yankeepeddlers
mighthaveinitiatedthe consumer
practice
of
thetechnological
upgrade.
Peddlingfevergrippedtheyoungmenof New Englandin the 1810s.
WilliamAndrusAlcott,whoparticipated
in thisrushfor wealth,latercompaxed
thepeddling
rageto the California
goldrush.Peddling
wasa manifestation
of
thebroadercultural
trendof "seeking
themainchance"
throughtheunbridled
individualistic
puxsuit
of success.
The desirefor speculative
success
infected
Phineas
T. Barnum,
a contemporary
of manyof theseyoungpeddlers:
My disposition
wasof thatspeculative
character
whichrefusedto
be satisfied
unlessI wasengaged
in somebusiness
wheremy
profitsmightbe enhanced,
or, at least,madeto depend
uponmy
energy,perseverance,
attentionto business,
tact,and 'calculation'
[Bamum,1930,p. 18].
It wascommonfor "enterprising
youngmen"in earlynineteenth-century
New
England
"to startoff South,
in thefallseason,
andspend
thewinterin someof
thesouthem
States,
on tradingexpeditions,
andreturnin thespringwiththe
fruits of their industryand enterprise"
[Douglas,1856, p. 25]. A rising
generation
of speculators
hopedthey couldmimic the success
of the few
peddlers
who created"greatestates"
out of "thepencilbox,andthe orange
basket,"
wroteWilliamAndrusAlcottin 1834.Thousands
of youngmen,most
baxelyout of theirteens,loadedup wagons
withcombs,clocks,
trowaxe,
and
otherYankeenotions,
whichtheysoldin theSouthandWest"rapidly,
at large
pricesand great profits,"and "someof them appearedto be getting
rich."(Alcott,1834,pp. 136-137;Alcott,1851,pp. 14-15].Asa Upsonnoted
that the half dozenpeddlerswho returnedto Bristol,Connecticut
in 1823
32 / JOSEPHT. RAINER
lookedlike they had "comeas Cleanas the Cat Come out of the Cream"
[Upson,4/6/1823]. WilliamSherman
andhisthreepeddling
partners
cleared
three thousanddollarseachin 1818 in the Mississippi
Territory.Sherman
boasted of his successto friends back home:
This in Massachusetts
wouldbe callda prettylitde fortunebut
we consider
it hereonlyasa tolerable
goodbusiness
for young
men justembarking
in business
with a smallcapital& no credit
andall strangers
in thecountry& to thebusiness
we havebeen
in [Sherman-Tabor,
11/21/1818].
Peddling
feverspread
assuccessful
peddlers
returned
or wrotehomefromthe
South.Returnsof thirty-three
percentor moreon a stockof goodswere
common.
Bronson Alcott
claimed that his "Articles
afford
escclusive of
Expenses
1/3rd or 33 1/3 percentprofit"[Hermstadt,
1969,pp. 1-2].Samuel
Peckestimated
that peddlingwouldeam his brothertwenty-fiveto thirty
percent
profits,fargreater
thanthereturns
fromthemoresteady
occupation
of
farming[R.U.Peck,8/6/1826].ThomasDouglas
of Wailingsford,
Connecticut,
cleared
$1,200on$500worthof goodsthathecarried
through
western
Virginia
duringtheWar of 1812[Douglas,
1856,p. 32].MiltonBateswas"wideawake
to goinon to thesouth"afterhearing
of hisbrotherCarlos'success
peddling
clocksin Virginia[Bates,3/15/1831].TrumanAldermanurgedhis brother
Mannato "pluckup courage
& goto georgia
or someotherplace"whereother
Yankee
peddlers
weremaking
"aGoodDealof money"[Alderman,
1992,p. 11].
Thelureof wealthandsocial
pressures
to succeed
compelled
manyyoungNew
Englandmen"seekthemainchance"
atpeddling.
Mostof theNewEngland
menwhotookuppeddling
werein theirearly
twenties.
Until a youngmanreached
theageof twenty-one,
he couldnot enter
contracts
andobligations
legally
asanindividual.
"Infant"sonsundertheage
of consent
hadto seektheirparents'
permission
to engage
in a peddling
career.
Employerswere carefulto haveparentsof underage
sonsor sonswith no
assetsgive securityfor their son'sdebts.TrumanAldermancounseled
his
brotherManna that Manna'sformer employerElishaDunhamcouldnot
recover
damages
fromMannabecause
he"wasunderage"whenhepeddled
tin
forDunham,
andDunham"didnotfulfil hisagreement"
[ibid.,p. 7].Burrage
Yale,whohiredabouteightyoungmeneachyearto peddletin fromhisshop
in SouthReading,Massachusetts,
specifically
advertised
for "youngmen of
lawful age,"twenty-oneto thirty yearsold [New HampshirePatriotState
Gazette,1/19/1829, 1/28/1833].The youthof Yankeepeddlerscan be
quantified
fromthepublished
listsof peddlers
licensed
to tradein Georgia
between1826 and 1831 [Georgia
Journal,
1/6/1826-12/21/1831].Of the one
hundredandsixty-seven
peddlers
listedin Georgianewspapers
between1826
and 1831,only nine were minors;fully half werebetweentwentyone and
twenty-six
yearsof age;andfour-fifths
of themwerethirtyor younger(see
Table1). The youngest
licensed
peddlerwaseighteen,
theoldestwasfifty-six.
The medianagefor thisgroupwasapproximately
twenty-four,
andthe mean
agewasabouttwenty-six
anda half.
THE "SHARPER" IMAGE OF YANKEE PEDDLERS / 33
Tat,le1:Agesof Peddlers
in Georgia,1825-18312
AgeRange
Number(N= 167)
Under 21:
Percentage
9
5.4
21 to 25:
84
50.3
26 to 30:
42
25.1
31'to 35:
22
13.2
Over 35:
10
6.0
Theseyoungpeddlerswere in needof guidanceas well as capital.
Peddlingwasan alternative
to clefkingin a store.ElijahKellogoffereda
peddlingcontractto N. CollinsprovidedCollinswould"comeat a low price"
of one hundred,twenty-fivedollarsper year. There was not "sufficient
encouragement"
in Kellog'soffer to attractCollins,who decidedto take a
positionasa clerkinstead.
His friends,who didnot "speakveryflattering
of"
peddlingaffectedCollins'decision
aswell [Harrison,
3/6/1822, 3/16/1822].
Phineas
T. Barnumdescribed
hisplightasa young,fatherless,
yet ambitious
teenin 1826in hisautobiography:
I was in that uneasy,transitorystatebetweenboyhoodand
manhood
whenI hadunbounded
confidence
in myownabilities,
andyetneededa discreet
counselor,
adviser
andfriend[Barnum,
1930,p. 18].
Yankeeentrepreneurs
tappedintothisreserve
of youthfulenergyandambition.
WilliamAndrosAlcottclaimedthat "thereis generally
in the neighborhood
somehawk-eyed
moneydealer,who knowsthat he cannotbetterinvesthis
fundsthanin thehandsof activeyoungmen"[Alcott,1834,p. 90].Bronson
Alcott'sviewof suchmercantile
mentorships
wasjadedby hisdealings
with
JosephT. Allyn, a transplanted
Yankeemerchantwho operateda storein
Norfolk,Virginia.Bronson
felthimselfthe"gudgeon"
to this"shrewd
dealerin
fancygoods."
Havingbeencheated
byAllyn,mused
Alcott:'%X/by
should
he
hesitate,
why needrepent,To sellin turn at thirty-three
percent?"
Bronson
Alcottwasunsuccessful
atpeddling
fancygoods
andtinware
in Virginia,andin
1822hadto relinquish
hishorse,
wagon,andgoodsto Allynfor hisoutstanding
debtstoAllyn.Alcott's
fatherhadto payoff twohundred
andseventy
dollars
of Bronson's
debtto Allyn [Alcott,1881,pp.180-181,211;Wagner,1979,
p. 252].
"Arithmetic,"
presumed
ThomasHamiltonof theYankees,
came"by
instinctamongthisguessing,
reckoning,
expecting,
andcalculating
people"
[Hamilton,
1833,p. 127].DespitetheYankees'
reputation
for being"bornto
calculate
shillings
andpence,"
peddling
didnot comenaturalto youngNew
Englandmen [Murat, 1833, p. 6]. Sellingalmanacs
in Norfolk, Virginia
2202licenses
werefound.Individuals
whoappeared
in morethanoneyeararerepresented
onceat theiryoungest
age.Thereweredoubtless
manymorepeddlers
in Georgia
in thisperiod
than the 167 who obtained licenses.
34 / JOSEPHT. RAINER
"requiredmore confidence,at f•rst,"wrote BronsonAlcott, "than I could
readilysummon,to accosta personand offer my trifle. Habit, however,soon
gavefacility,even somethingof dignity,to my attitude,and won respect."
JosephT. AllynprovidedAlcottwith "Directions
for sellingcertainArticles,"
suggesting
pricesfor violin strings,beads,watch chains,pins and needles
[Alcott,1881, p. 180; Alcott, 1823, p. 107]. Suchpetty salesmanship
was a
schoolfor scandal,
wroteTimothyDwight:
Men who beginlife with bargaining
for smallwareswill almost
invariably
becomesharpers.
The commanding
aimof everysuch
manwill soonbe to makea goodbargain,andhe will speedily
consider
everygainfulbargainasa goodone.The tricksof fraud
will assume
in his mindthe sameplacewhichcommercial
skill
and an honorablesystemof dealinghold in the mind of a
merchant[Dwight,1969,vol. 1, p. 223].
Tinwareand clockmanufacturers
and entrepreneurs
oftenhad to tramtheir
new peddlersin the artsand mysteryof peddling.HezekiahGriswoldasked
tinwaremanufacturer
OliverFilleyto givehis son "all the instructions
and
informations
thatyoumaythinkproperandnecessary
for him respecting
the
articleshe maytakeandthe mannerin whichhe oughtto proceed- He is
youngandunacquainted
with business
andneedsinstruction
andI shallcount
it a greatfavor to have you take the libertyto talk with him" [Filley,
4/14/1824].ChapinG. Demirigwasa "newhand"at clockpeddling
in 1839,
who needed"instructions
in relationto puttingup clocks&c." C.&C. Ives
suggested
to SethWheelerthathetakeDemingunderhiswing:
in orderthathemightbecome
a littleacquainted
howto manage
business,
wouldit not be betterfor you to go out with him
awhilethathe maystartright,andif not consistent
withyouto
go,let him go out at firstwith someothergoodhand[Wheeler,
2/12/1839].
"Newhands"
at peddling
couldalsolearnfromrelatives
experienced
at
peddling.Unfortunately,
perhaps,for Chatfield Alcott, his older brother
Bronsonsawit ashis dutyto showhim the ropesat peddling
[Hermstadt,
1969,pp. 1-2].AlbertandMiltonBatesqueriedtheirbrotherCarlosaboutthe
prospects
for peddlingclocksin theSouthin 1831:
giveme all the information
you canaboutwhatkindof clocks
andwhattheyareworththereandwhatkindof watchesandhow
muchtheywill fetch.I wishyouto giveus the bestinformation
youcanaboutwhatstatewill be the bestandwhatpartto land
the property.I wouldwishyou to informme in whatwayto
goneon in anopenwagonor a coverdone.And aboutwhattime
in theseason
to goon andwhatcapitalwouldbenecessary
for us
to startwith. I would not confineyou to any one articlebut
THE "SHARPER" IMAGE OF YANKEE PEDDLERS / 35
wouldhaveyouinformmeof thoseyouthinkthebestfor profit
[Bates,3/15/1831].
The wagespaidto tin peddlers
rangedfromtwenty-five
to fifty dollars
per month.Paymentcameat theexpiration
of the contracted
periodof sixto
ninemonths.Wageswerein cash,or, asin thecaseof Chauncey
Buck,twothirdsin cashand"theresidue
in Truck."As anaddedincentive
to aggxessive
salesmanship,
thepeddler.
couldkeephalf of whathe wasableto clearabove
his wagesand the wholesale
valueof the tinware.Contractsoften included
harshstipulations
concerning
thewages
of inefficient
or profligate
salesmen.
In
his 1818contract
to peddlefor OliverFilley,AndrewHayspromised
"notto
sink s[ai]dFilley anythingmore than his wages."Hays's1820 contract
stipulated
thatFilley"shallnotlooseanything
bymemorethanmywagesand
shouldtherebe anyfurtherlossI willmakeit up."ThomasFraziercontracted
to selltin for Filleyfor fifty dollarsa monthfor sixmonths.Frazier'scontract
stated
thatif hefailedto clearhiswages
in sales,
hewouldhaveto makeuphalf
hissalary
- onehundredfifty dollars- to Filley.If Fraziercleared
morethan
hissalary
in hissales,
Frazierwouldreceive
halftheprofits[Filley;R.U.Peck;
Alderman,
1992,p. 20;Keir,1913,p. 256].
Clockpeddlers
weregenerally
betterpaidthantinwarepeddlers.
Seth
Wheeler'semployees
earnedfrom fifty to seventy-five
dollarsper month
peddling
clocksin Kentucky.
If a peddlercouldprovehimselfcapable
in
makingsales,
Wheelerincreased
hissalary.
Deforest
Wolcott's
contract
of 1836
promisedhim a salaryof fifty-fivedollarsper month.However,if Wolcott
couldperformas well as EbenezerPlumb,anotherpeddlerin Wheeler's
employ,
Wolcottwouldreceive
a bonusof fivedollars
permonth.Wolcotthad
to conduct
"a firstratebusiness,"
making
"asmanysales
andon asgoodterms
as to pricesand lengthof creditsand as safe debts"as Plumb. Wolcott
performed
satisfactorily,
andin thefollowing
yearhiscontract
promised
hima
salary
of $62.50permonth.As theygained
experience
andskillat makinga
sale,clockpeddlers
coulddemandbetterwages.TimothyColvinbegan
peddlingclocksfor Wheelerin 1836at fifty-fivedollarsper month.The
following
yearWheeler
increased
Colvin's
compensation
to sixtydollars
per
month,andin 1839Colvineamed$67.50permonth[Wheeler].
Employerscompensated
their peddlersfor concomitant
traveling
expenses,
suchasboard,lodging,
andlicense
fees,butusually
not for medical
expenses,
clothing,
or keeping
theirownwagonin repair.In NathanielClark's
contractto peddletinwarefor OliverFilley,Clarke's
expenses
wereto be
"bomeout of theloadhe peddles
from"[Filley].
Ratherthancompensate
peddlers
for theirexpenses,
employers
usually
providedpeddlers
with an
assortment
of cheap"notions,"the saleof whichwas meantto coverthe
peddler's
expenses.
A fictionalaccountof the kindsof waresmeantto cover
expenses
isprobably
faithfulto reality:
on thelidwasplaceda bagfullof whiplashes,
a fewparcels
of
cigars,and a numberof boxescontaining
all the varietyof
combs,
fromcoarse
hornlousetrapsto superfine
ivoryandhigh
36 / JOSEPHT. RAINER
finished tortise shell... The box contained an assortment on the
profits of which he was to subsisthimselfand horse,and
consisted
of a greatvarietyof 'good-for-nothing'
thingswhich
womenare so fond of purchasing
- suchas beads,ear tings,
breastpins,andall thelittleet ceteras
of jewelry;
besides
a good
storeof essences,
shaving
soap,scissors,
thread,needles,
pins&
stilettos
[Georgia
Journal,
4/5/1832].
SethWheeler
provided
hisclockpeddlers
withdozens
of combsto meettheir
traveling
expenses.
Thepeddlers
keptaccounts
of selling
thecombsfor abouta
dollarapiece,andoftenrecorded
swapping
combsoutrightfor a tavernbill.
Thiswasindeedeconomical,
giventhatWheelerpaidaboutsixanda quarter
cents each for brass combs and less than fifteen
cents for silver combs
[Wheeler,
7/24/1837].
Burrage
Yaleof Reading,
Massachusetts
soughtto hirepeddlers
through
advertisements
from 1823 to 1844.Yale wantedyoungmen of "undoubted
moralcharacter,"
whowere"capable,"
"honest,"
"trust-worthy,"
"industrious,"
and"wellqualified
to makegoodtraders."
As proofof suchcharacter,
the
potentialpeddlershadto produce"recommendations
from the Selectmen
of
theirtown,andcountersigned
bya minister
of thesameplace,thattheypossess
the abovequalifications"
[NewHampshire
PatdotStateGazette,1823-1844].
Russell
UpsonPeckpromised
in hiscontract
to peddletinware"to be Prudent
Faithful& Industrious"
to hisemployer,
JamesBrooks[R.U.Peck,9/26/1826.
As a furtherprotection
against
lossfromdishonest
peddlers,
employers
often
requireda parentor someotherpersonto give security.Elijah Kellog's
"cautionof hiringpedlers
is to havethemgivesecurity
thatis providedI am
notacquainted
withthem,andshallcalculate
theyoungmanwillprocuresuch
a recommend
thatwill holdthe security
accountable
for his performance"
[Harrison,
3/6/1822]. On occasion,
employers
lost propertyto dishonest
peddlers.
HarveyFilleyplanned
to takea tripin theSpring
of 1821in western
Virginiato findhis"stray"and"runaway"
peddlers,
whohadnot returned
to
hisPhiladelphia
tin depot.Filleyfiguredthese"doubtfuldebt[or]s"
wouldnot
cometo Philadelphia
to pay him, so he resolved"to go afterthem" [Filley,
2/14/1821].RichardWilcoxwascheated
by a peddler,Mr. Bartlett,who
peddled
outof hisPetersburg,
Virginiatin depot.Wilcoxdischarged
Bartlettin
1820,andin 1821heardthathehad"bit"hisnewemployers
"aswellashe did
us& I thinkhewillbiteanyonethathireshim"[Wilcox,11/19/1821].
A peddler'sbottomline was eaminghis wagesin sales,or at least
recouping
the valueof the loadof tinware.RichardWilcoxkepthisbrother
abreast
of the profitability
of theirpeddlers'
performances,
tellingBenjamin
Wilcoxwhocleared
theirwages
andwhocameshort.TheWflcoxes
hada good
Winter in 1822 when Richard Wilcox calculated that: "Our Peddlers I think will
the mostof themcleartherewagesthisseason."
The performance
of hired
peddlers
attracted
the particular
attentionof manufacturers
of tinware.The
foremanof theFilley'sElizabethtown,
NewJersey,
tin shopreported
to Oliver
Filleyin 1810that "Joabhasnot donebadbut verywellfor a newpedler."
THE "SHARPER" IMAGE OF YANKEE PEDDLERS / 37
InitiallyL. Burr'sperformance
at peddling
worriedHarveyFilley.On hisfirst
trip, Burr was out two months,and "did not fetchin anything."
On a
subsequent
tripBurrregained
theconfidence
of Filleybymaking
onehundred
dollarsduringa "middling
goodtrip" of threeweeks.HarveyFilleyassured
OliverFilleythat Burr "will gainthe pointafter a while."RichardWilcox
criticized
DavidKelseyfor not earning"moneyquiteto the chalk."Though
Wilcoxsupposed
Kelseywas"good,"he did notwantto allowKelsey's
debts
to run too far. Mr. Pardy,anotherWilcoxpeddler,"did not payup into fifty
dollarsfor his loads."ThomasT. Hubbardwasa biggerdisappointment
to
RichardWilcox.Not onlydidHubbardbringin aninadequate
amountof cash
for a loadof tinware,but someof the moneywascounterfeit.
RichardWilcox
threatened:
"if hedoesnotcomein betterthistimeI shallDischarge
himwhen
he comesin again."WilcoxdeniedMr. Whitinghis wagesentirely.Wilcox
justifiedhis actionson Whiting'sperformance
as follows:"he did not quite
clearhis property,and as he quit peddlingsoonerthanthe time mentioned
whenwe bargained
withhim,ashe hada goodoppermnity
of selling
wagon&
horse,I think it no more than justicenot to pay him any wagesat all"
[R.U.Peck;Filley, 10/26/1818, 1/31/1819, 12/23/1810;Wilcox,4/17/1819,
12/15/1819, 12/25/1819,2/19/1822, 3/22/1822, 3/11/1823].
ManySoutherners
viewedYankeepeddlers
aspartof a largerproblem
of an imbalance
of tradewith the manufacturing
andfinancialcentersof the
Northeast.Northernagentsdominated
the exporttradeof staplecropsfrom
Southerncities.Yankeesand'other"foreigners"
composed
the bulk of the
mercantileclassin southerncities,whichwere viewedas appendages
of
Northernseaports,
"placeswheretheir agentsand factorsdo business,
and
who, havingbut little localinterest,withdrawfrom them after a few years
residence,
with all theirgains,to swellthe wealthof the placeof theirearly
affectionand attachment"
[Russell,
1923,pp. 19-20,99-100;Sydnor,1948;
Potter,1976].Yankeepeddlers
addeda personal
dimension,
a faceon which
Southerners
couldplacetheblamefor theireconomic
woes.
Peddlerswereprobablythe onlyYankeesmostSoutherners
evermet
faceto face.Fromaccumulated
encounters
withYankeepeddlers
in the first
threedecades
of thenineteenth
century
manySoutherners
acquired
a negative
impression
of all New Englanders.
The editorsof the NationalIntelh•encer
claimedto haveheardSoutherners
usethe expression
"DamnedYankees...a
thousand
times"in 1829."DamnedYankees"
waspopularized
by "themassof
the people,who derivetheirnotionsof 'theYankees'
from tin-pedlars
and
wooden-nutmeg
venders"[National
Intelligencer,
6/18/1829].The Camden
Journal
of SouthCarolinaalsoimputedthe "disadvantageous
impression
of Northern
character"
upon"thepettycheating,
thelowlivedimposition,
andtwopenny
trickeryof the Connecticut
peddlers.""By no very unnaturalcourseof
reasoning,"
the Camden
Journal
went on, "theyhaveidentifiedthe Northern
character
with that of the Wallingfordpedlersof Tin Ware and Wooden
WheeledClocks"[reprinted
in Georgia
Journal,
3/30/1830].TheYankeepeddler,
complaineda northerncritic,"is the mostcommonobjectof the jeersand
jokesof ourSouthern
brethren,
whosemythical
andhighlyimaginative
notions
38 / JOSEPHT. RAINER
of themenof theNorth it seemsquiteimpossible
to correct"[NorthAmerican
Rev/eu,,
1844,p. 211].As a northerndefender
of New Englandcharacter
noted
in 1837,sincethe Yankeepeddlerstereotype
was "capableof producinga
politicaleffect,"it bore"a charmed
life" [North
American
Rev/eu,,
1837,p. 241].
Talesof Yankeetricksandfraudulent
bargains
werecurrentthroughout
thecountry,
butwereespecially
virulentin theSouth.Thesestories
catalogued
anenormous
rangeof bogusgoodsthatYankeepeddlers
imposed
uponsouthernconsumers.
Kentucky,
notedTimothyFlintin 1826,wasfullof "finestories
aboutYankeetricks,andYankeefinesse"
[Flint,1968,pp.26, 52-53].Peddlers
of finwareand clocksfiguredprominently
in thesetales.William Gilmore
Simmscreateda character
namedJaredBunce,a Connecticut
peddler,in his
novelof frontierGeorgia,GuyPaNrs.GeorgiaRegulators
seizeBunceand try
him in the "courtof JudgeLynch."Witnessafterwitnessaccuses
Bunceof
fraudscommittedagainstthem.Buncehad solda ColonelBlundell"a coffeepotandtwofincups,allof whichwentto pieces
- thesolder
meltingoff at the
very sightof the hot water."Bunceclaimsthat the finwarewas built for a
northernclimateandpositsthattheGeorgians
boiltheirwater"quitetoo hot"
for hisfinware.Buncepromises
thathisnextlot of finware"shallbe calkilated
on purposeto suitthe climate."Bunce'swoodenclocksare likewisedeemed
trash.Buncesolda clockto a planter's
wifeandnottwodayshadpassed
since
Bunceleft, "beforethe said clock beganto go whiz, whiz, whiz, and
commenced
striking,
whizzingallthewhile,andneverstopped
till it hadstruck
clearthirty-one,and sincethat time it will neitherwhiz, nor strike,nor do
anything"[Simms,n.d.,pp. 77, 79].
Asa Greenparodies
the encounters
betweenSouthCarolinaplanters
and Yankeepeddlersin his novel,A Yankee
among
theNullifiers.
A Yankee
peddlersellsa "St.Killigrew's
clock"to a planterandwarrantsthat the clock
wouldneverstopif hewouldsetit running
onthatsamt's
day,andpromised
if
theclockvariedoneminuteoversixmonths,
hewouldrefundtheplanterhis
fortydollars.
Theplanterlooksin hisalmanac
andcanfindno St.Killigrew,
and to his furtherchagrin,the clockwill not run at all. When the peddler
returnsa yearlater,the planterdemands
a refund.The craftyYankeereplies
thatif the clock"hasstoodstock
stillall the time,it sartinlycould'nta varied
any,"andrefuses
to refundthemoney.AnotherYankeepeddlersoldthissame
planter's
wifea counterfeit
tortoiseshellcomb.Wearingthecombin herhairin
a rainstorm,"shefoundthe combhad all dissolved,
andit took threeweeksto
clearherhairof thesticky
massof glue,sugar,
andgumarabic,
outof whichit
wascomposed"
[Greene,
1833,pp.67-68,70-71].
Southerners
accused
Yankee
peddlers
of passing
a hugevarietyof bogus
goodsmadeout of wood:',toodennutmegs,
woodenhams,woodencheese,
woodengardenseeds,and woodencandlesticks.
The Yankees'counterfeit
goodswere madein other mediaas well: oakleafcigars,horn gunflints,
stonecoal
indigo,andsoon. In his 1832novel,Memoirs
ofa Nullifier,
Algernon
Sydney
Johnstonalsoputsa Yankeeon trial,not in a Regulators'
court,but
beforethe Judgement
seatof Rhadamanthus.
Rhadamanthus
readsfrom a
THE "SHARPEW' IMAGE OF YANKEE PEDDLERS / 39
ledger"a terriblylong accountagainst"a YankeepeddlernamedVirgil
Hoskins.
Toselling,
inthecourse
ofonepedclling
eXPedition,
497,368
woodennutmegs,
281,532Spanish
cigars
madeof oakleaves,
and
647wooden
clocks...
To stealing
anoldgrindstone,
smearing
it
overwith butter,andthensellingit asa cheese...To makinga
counterfeitdollarof pewter,whenyouwere sixyearsold, and
cheating
yourownfatherwithit... To takinga wom outpai•of
shoes,
whichyoufoundin theroad,andsellingthemto a pious
oldlady,asbeingactually
theshoesof SaintPaul...To takingan
emptyold watchcase,puttinga live cricketinto it, and then
sellingit asa patentleverin fullmotion.
Rhadamanthus
declares
hisexasperation
with New England,whichgiveshim
"moretroublethanall the rest of the worldput together."
He sentences
Hoskins"to be throwninto a lakeof boilingmolasses,
wherenearlyall your
countrymen
already
are,withthatsameoldgrindstone
tiedto yourneck,andto
remainthereforever"[Johnston,
1832,p. 40]. The Georgia
Journal
printedin
humorous
detailthecomposition
of a fraudulent
woodencandleas:"A piece
of whiteoakwoodturnedin the shapeof a candle,
witha snuglittlewickin
eachend,cover'dwithjustabouttallowenoughto grease
thebill of a Longe
Ishndmisketefi"
[Georgia
Journal,
2/21/1833].
The woodencomposition
of thesebogusgoodsis significant
in that
woodwasa mediumof the earlymechanization
of New Englandindustry.
Woodenclocks,gun stocks,bowls,shoelasts,and othercommodities
were
churned
outof thenewlypatented
machinery
runningNew England's
industry
[Hindle,1975,pp.3-12].Southerners
andothershostileto theprotectionism
of
New Englandmanufacturers
denigtatedthe flood of patentsin the early
nineteenth
centuryasmechanical
absurdities.
Southerners
werenot Luddites,
but theyquestioned
the usesto whichYankeesput theirlathesand other
machinery.Actual productsevokedthis ridicule,such as the foot stove
advertisedby JosephB. Gilbert in the Connecticut
Courant
in 1812. Gilbert
claimed
thathistin boxwas"soconstructed
asto combine
all thenecessary
properties
of a foot-stove,
teaboiler,chafingdish,platewarmer,andbutteror
liquorcooler,as the seasonmay be" [Connecticut
Courant,
11/30/1812].A
frequenttargetof thesepatentswere their ludicrous,sesquipedalian
names.
JacobEngelbrecht
of Frederick,Maxylandobserved
in 1825 "a Machineto
preventcowsfrom Poking- It was an Iron Bow, Extendingfrom the
Extremityof one hornto the otherin a Semi-circular
form."Engelbrecht
reckonedthe contraption
wouldbe called"the patentPreventing
Poker"
[Quynn,1976,3/28/1825].In thehumorof theperiod,theseYankeedevices
promiseda fabulous,yet worthless,mechanization
of the mundane.The
Virginia and North CarolinaAlmanackfor 1834 describeda fantastic
contraption
calledthe"New-England
Sausage
andScrubbing
BrushMachine...
Into thecentreof thismachine...youdrivea hog;setthescrews
a going,andit
will produceread•y
made
sausages
from oneend,andpatentscrubbing
brushes
from
40 / JOSEPHT. RAINER
theother"[Warrock,1834].The protagonist
of Johnston's
Memoirs
ofa Nullifier
invests$20,000of hisinheritance
into the factoryof a Yankeeinventornamed
IncreaseHooker.The factorywill produce"Hooker'sPatentSelf animated
Philanthropic
FryingPans."Thiswas"a fryingpan,upona newandwonderful
principle.The mechanism
is suchthat the slicesof bacon,whenexactlyhalf
done,turn themselves
overon the othersidesimultaneously."
In a momentof
fictional,wishfulthinking,Johnston
writesthat the fryingpan is a flop in the
SouthCarolinamarket.The fryingpans"weresoldfor nextto nothing,amidst
the ridiculeof the assembly,
who declared
themselves
resolved
to stickto the
realgoodold frying-pan
of theirforefathers"
[Johnston,
1832,pp. 7, 8, 13].
Statelegislatures
triedto regulate
thepeddlers
out of business
by raising
licensefeesto prohibitive
levels,up to onethousand
dollarsperyearin some
states.
Clockpeddlers
hadto payh/ghlicensefeesof onehundreddollarsper
year per countyin Virginia after 1832. The fees were meant in part to
recirculate
the largeamountof cashthat clockpeddlerssupposedly
drained
from the local economy.To evaderestrictivelicensinglaws againstselling
clocks,Yankeepeddlers,
according
to a long-lived,
popularjoke,switched
to
leasingclocksfor ninety-meyears[Georgia
Journal,
11/20/1833;Lexington
Ga,•ette,
8/5/1841]. SomeAnti-TariffSoutherners
suggested
that the legal
precedentfor an extensiveboycottof Westerngoodslie in anti-peddler
legislation,
andthat "a veryslightalteration"
in theselaws"wouldeffectually
controlthe horse,hog, mule,cattle,bagging,and bacontradeof the west"
[Nile5IVeek•y
Register,
1828,p. 301].
For forty yearsVirginianscomplainedto their statelegislaturethat
peddlers
weredrainingspedefrom the commonwealth.
In 1806petitioners
in
Campbell,Cumberland,and Spotsylvania
Countiesestimatedthat peddlers
removed$300,000in "readycash...notonlyout of theneighborhood,
but out
of the state."This depletionof hardcurrencyadversely
affectednot onlythe
internalcirculation
of money,buteventheestablished
bankswere"constantly
drainedof theirspecie!"
Frederick
Countypetitioners
in 1822claimed
that"at
the lowestcalculation,"
tin peddlersalonetook away$75,000annuallyfrom
Virginiain cashas well as in othercommodities,
suchas "Furs,Beeswax,
Feathers,
Old Copper,andPewter,andindeedeveryvaluablearticleof trade
theycanlay theirhandson." A few yearslaterpetitioners
from Brunswick,
Fauquier,PrinceWilliam,and Shenandoah
Countiescomplained
that Yankee
peddlershad "actuallyproduceda bahnceof tradeagainstthe interiorof the
Commonweakh." As the Nullification crisis heated sectional tensions,
Southerners
beganto point out how northernmanufacturers
benefittedat
southern
expense
throughthepeddlertrade.HughHenryBrackenridge
opined
in 1831that:"The moneyof the southern
farmeris at presentcollected
and
carriedaway,to rewardthe industryof the northernmanufacturer;
southern
notesare taken,soldto the northat a discount,and sentbackto crampthe
operationsof the southernbanks"[Schwaab,
1973, vol. 1, pp.244-245].
Petitionersfrom FauquierCounty,Virginia addedthis sentimentto the
traditional
catalogue
of complaints
against
Yankeepeddlers:
THE "SHARPER" IMAGE OF YANKEE PEDDLERS / 41
Amongstthe evilsarisingfrom themmaybe enumerated
with
certainty;
an extensive
andunlawfultraffickwith theslaves,
who
aretheirprincipal
dealers;
thecollection
andtransmission
of the
speciachangein largequantifies
from the commonwealth;
the
introduction
of the smallnote currencyknownas shinplasters
anditscirculation
amongst
ignorant
persons;
theinterception
of
the business
of the regularretailmerchants;
the impositionof
counterfeit
andinsubstantial
articles
of wearandornament
upon
purchasers;
andfinally,theremovalof theirgainsto otherstates
to whosewealthandadvancement
theycontributeat our cost.
Southerners
foughtthe inundation
of Yankeemanufactures
in several
ways: boycotts,restrictivelegislation,and the encouragement
of home
manufactures.
In Johnston's
work of fiction,the peopleof SouthCarolina
seemto naturallyrejectIncreaseHooker'sfryingpans.But in realitysuch
consumerboycottswere led by secfionalist
southernleadersopposedto
protectionist
tariffs.However,therewerecertainly
cases
in whichanaggrieved
southernconsumermight make such decisionson his or her own. James
Dowdellmadethekindof publicnoticeexpected
by southern
society
of a man
whosedomestic
domainhadbeenviolated.In a noticeto peddlers
published
in
the Georgia
Journal
on July 11, 1826, Dowdellprotestedthat a "chn of
designing,
unprincipled
mischief-makers"
had "influence[d],
misguide[d]
and
induce[d]"
hisfifteen-year-old
wifeto purchase
a largequantity
of merchandise
withouthis"knowledge
or approbation."
Dowdellwaitedwhathe considered
a
sufficientamountof time for the peddlers"to reflect,repentand make
amends"for theirintrusioninto his domain,but to no avail.The onlysatisfactionDowdellcouldextractfromtheseinterlopers
for takingadvantage
of
hisyoungwifewasto boycottthepurchase
of anysuchcommodities
by his
householdfor the spaceof eighteenmonths[Georgia
Journal,
7/11/1826].
Southern
planters
ledbyexample,
dressing
themselves
in homespun
or English
imports.
A Nullifiergentleman
"wouldsooner
gofiftymilesandpaya hundred
percentmorethana thingis worthif it be onlyimported,
thanhavea similar
articleof American
manufacture
broughtto [his]verydoorandsoldat a fair
price,"claimedAsaGreene.A commonjokeof theNullification
erawasof the
Yankeepeddlerwho pointedout all the New Englandmadeitemsin a
Southern
planter'ssupposedly
Yankee-free
vestments
[Greene,1833,pp.3941].NiksRegister
joinedin theattackonAnti-tariffboycotts
byreporting
thata
Yankeeinventorwasearning"about2,000dollarsa yearby themanufacture
of
shaving
boxesto assistthe operationof nullificating
the beardsof southern
gentlemen"
[Nile• Register,
1831,p. 149].
Home manufactures
wereencouraged
to staunch
the flow of northern
goodsinto the South,andsouthern
wealthto the Northeast.Homespun
garmentsmighthavemadeappearances
at politicalralliesandotherpublicevents,
but northernclothesstillappeared
on southern
backs.The southern
criticism
of Yankee'sbogusgoodsreacheda paranoidpitchin 1828when Georgia
newspapers
issuedthe followingcautionto southernconsumers:
"Sample
42 / JOSEPHT. RAINER
Patterns of our Domestic cloth, have been sent on to the Northern
manufactories,
thattheymaybemadethere,andsenthereto be imposeon us
as Southern
Homespun.
Thereforebeware
of Counte•ts
[sic]- theywill soonbe
here."To fendoff suchimpositions,
thearticleadvised
consumers
to purchase
goods"onlyfromthemanufacturer,
or suchstorekeepers,
whoseveracitythey
can dependupon,when askedwhere their homespunwas made."They
certainlydid not haveYankeepeddlers
in mind [Georgia
Journal,
9/15/1828].
Petitioners
fromFrederick
County,
Virginiacomplained
in 1842that"eventhe
poorWiddowwho hasearnedan humblesupportfor her orphanchildrenby
the industrious
useof the needleis deniedthat pfiveledge"
by the flood of
northernmerchandize
intosouthern
homes[VA Legislative
Petitions].
The plight of southernmechanics
againstYankeecompetitionwas
reiterated
timeandagainin the earlynineteenth
century.In 1821the finsmiths
of FrederickCountyprotestedthat the "vastmonopoly"wroughtby the fin
peddlingsystemrenderedthe livelihoodof Virginiafinsmithsprecarious.
The
petitioners
complained
thatonlythe largesttownsandcitiesof Virginiacould
supporta nativefinsmith,whilein the absence
of the fin peddlers
andtheir
depots,the towns,hamlets,andcountycourthouses
of Virginiapotentially
couldhavesupported
thirtyor forty additional,
"regular"finsmiths.
Henry
MarieBrackenridge
notedwith concernin 1831thatsmallshopsandstores
filledwithnorthemgoodshadtakentheplaceof localmechanics
in theSouth.
Localartisans
couldnot compete
withtheYankee"hats,boots,shoes,
ploughs,
axes,hoes,buckets,
fin-ware,readymadeclothing,anda thousand
articlesof
the firstnecessity,"
thatstocked
southern
stores.
The impactwentbeyondthe
caresof the localmechanic,andled to the declineof southemcitiesand towns
[Schwaab,
1973, vol. 1, pp.244-245].In 1842 one hundredninety-nine
mechanics
andothersof Winchester,
Virginiaimportuned
the statelegislature
for anadditional
taxon peddlers
andshopkeepers
whosoldnorthernmanufacturedgoods.Judgingby the enumerated
listof goods,the sectorof the artisan
population
that felt the competition
of northernmanufacturers
hadwidened.
The petitioners
calledfor restrictions
on the saleof boots,shoes,hats,caps,
ready-made
clothing,
saddles,
harnesses,
saddletrees,
chairs,"alldescription
of
cabinetfurniture"andcopperandtinware[VA Legislative
Petitions].
Yankeepeddlersaggravated
southernanimosity.
over the imbalanceof
trade between North and South. William Gilmore Simms claimed in 1850 that
"the southernpeoplehavelong stoodin nearlythe samerelationto the
NorthernStatesof thisconfederacy,
that the wholeof the colonies,
in 1775,
occupied
to GreatBritain.""Anynationthatdefersthuswhollyto another,"
foreboded
Simms,"issoonemasculated,
andfinallysubdued"
[Schwaab,
1973,
vol.2, p. 470].TheYankeepeddler,
oftena hiredhandmerelytryingto makea
startin life,wasaccused
of actingastheagentof Northerncolonization
of the
South.Agentsof NorthemAggression,
Abolitionistfirebrands,
slavestealers,
counterfeiters,
seducingrakes - Southerners
attributedmany anti-social
behaviorsto Yankeepeddlers.Most of theseyoungmen were not born
sharpers,
but displaced
New Englandfarmboys
whowereinitiallyasignorant
of marketvaluesandbehaviors
astheirsouthern
customers
reputedly
were.
THE "SHARPER" IMAGE OF YANKEE PEDDLERS / 43
The manystoriesof tricksandfraudulent
goodssoldbyYankeepeddlers
hada
kernel of socialtruth. They reveal the anxietiesantebellumAmericans,
particularly
Southerners,
had as theywarilyembraced
andwere encompassed
by Nationalmarkets.
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