Britney Statum
HIS 103
3/1/16

Economics in Early America

Early America was shaped and transformed by the economy. There were many factors and purchases that happened throughout that aided in the upbringing of the American economy we know today. We know some events of American history, for example, the finding of Native Americans already on America, slavery throughout history, wars, and inventions were all factors of shaping the economy for us.
Before there was such a thing as the “New World,” there were millions of people living in America. The indigenous people of America had been there for thousands of years before the Europeans had arrived. Money was not an issue for these groups of people. They relied on the land and trade between the different tribes. The economy consisted of hunting, gathering and a complex agriculture system. They did not have the need for the money like the outside European world did. They relied on each other and the tribes around them. Different tribes were able to specialize in certain areas and then they could trade what they needed. While they did not have the sophisticated economy like the Europeans had, they were doing much better than after the Europeans arrived and started to try to change their way of life. Thomas Morton stated “, that the natives of the land lived so poorly in so rich a Country.” 1 There were so many things that the Native Americans did that Morton could not believe they did because all the travelers saw was vast land that could be sorted through. The Natives knew how to utilize the land and did not need

1. Eric Foner, Voices of Freedom (New York, W. W. Norton & Company, 2014), 6.

to keep moving west to live. Another point in Native American culture that was strange to the Europeans, was how they dealt with the land. The land was not owned by anyone but used as a tribe for a season and