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Itinerant Merchandising in the Ante-bellum South1
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 July 2012
Extract
Because of his antiquity the peddler occupies a distinguished position in the history of merchandising. Some historians have credited him with being the earliest business man or petty capitalist in western European economy, while others have seriously questioned his primacy in this respect; all agree, however, that he made his appearance very early in the history of merchandising. From his beginning he seems to have exercised most of the economic functions which have characterized him throughout his history. The transportation and retailing of goods to a scattered and rural market unable as yet to support the settled petty capitalist have generally been the function of the peddler. From the earliest times, too, he has traded his wares for the products of his customers, thus promoting commerce where money has been scarce and where people have lacked local agents to transport their surplus to outside markets. Always he has found the arrival of settled petty capitalists and the conditions which have given rise to them a competitive menace, and he has been able to survive only when he has modified his plan of operations so drastically as to destroy much of his original pattern of conduct.
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- Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 1945
References
1 A Guggenheim Fellowship and additional assistance from the University of Missouri Research Council made possible the collection of the material for this article.
2 Gras, N. S. B., Business, and Capitalism (New York, 1939), p. 46Google Scholar. Chap, ii of this work gives an interesting analysis of the part of the peddler in the rise of private business.
3 Weaver, Herbert, The Agricultural Population of Mississippi, 1850-1860 (unpublished doctoral dissertation at Vanderbilt University, 1941), p. 155Google Scholar.
4 Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia for 1847-48, p. 6.
5 Reminiscences signed “Opa” in the Fayette Chronicle, Dec. 14, 1888; “Source Material for Mississippi History,” Jefferson County, vol. xxxii, part 1, p. 9Google Scholar. Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson.
6 Examples are voluminous, in southern country newspapers. See, for example, advertisement of Curtis Wilkinson in Salisbury Western Carolinian, July 25, 1820, and of Benjamin Omes in Milledgeville, Georgia, Southern Recorder, June 8, 1824.
7 Letter of J. S. Blount to James W. Bryan, Sept. 9, 1836, Bryan Papers, 1704-1927, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina.
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11 Alexandria, The Louisiana Democrat, Jan. 18, 1860.
12 Capitolian Vis-A-Vis, May 10, 1854.
13 Opelousas Courier, Oct. 21, 1854.
14 Georgia Journal, Sept. 22, 1831.
15 Manuscript census returns for Madison, Clarke, Monroe, Lawrence, Hancock, Coffee, Baldwin, Covington, Washington, Bibb, Dallas, Chambers, Perry, Coosa and Randolph counties in Alabama for 1850 (Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery.)
16 Cuming's Tour to the Western Country, 1807-1809 (vol. iv in Thwaites, R. G., Early Western Travels, Cleveland, 1904), p. 116Google Scholar.
17 Baton Rouge Gazette, Feb. 27, 1841.
18 Milledgeville, Southern Recorder, Feb. 5, 1839. See also account of murders of river peddlers in Huntsville, Alabama, The Democrat, Apr. 11, 1840, and Vidalia, Louisiana, The Concordia Intelligencer, Apr. 14, 1854. Examples of accounts of robberies of peddlers are contained in Salisbury Western Carolinian, Nov. 1, 1838, and Baton Rouge Gazette, Aug. 14, 1830, and Nov. 14, 1840.
19 Opelousas Courier, June 26, 1858.
20 Wright, Richardson, Hawkers and Walkers in Early America (Philadelphia, 1927). p. 23Google Scholar.
21 See account given by D. Sanger in Baton Rouge Gazette, Feb. 22, 1845; planter opinion of river trading boats stated by Olmsted, , Cotton Kingdom, vol. i, pp. 331–332Google Scholar; and letter of Graham and Isaac Shriver to Shepherd Brown & Company, Feb. 1, 1805, cited in the present writer's article, “John McDonough—New Orleans Mercantile Capitalist,” Journal of Southern History, vol. vii (Nov., 1941), pp. 451–481Google Scholar.
22 Petition of John Key, “Petitions to the Legislature.” Box 57, Secretary of State Documents in office of State Archives and Land Office, Nashville. Innumerable illustrations are contained in these records.
23 See, for example, Acts of the General Assembly of Tennessee for 1817, pp. 30-31.
24 Acts of the General Assembly of Georgia for 1849-50, Act approved Feb. 21, 1850.
25 Acts of the General Assembly of Georgia for 1851-52, Act in favor of James A. Straynge, approved Jan. 19, 1852. For a similar treatment of indigents in Virginia, see Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia for 1847-48, pp. 338-339.
26 Advertisement of Daniel H. Cress in Western Carolinian, Mar. 15, 1834; advertisement of Jenkins and Biles in Carolina Watchman, June 22, 1844. See also advertisement of Hardy's auction store in Chattanooga Gazette, May 16, 1844.
27 Baton Rouge Gazette, Aug. 12, 1842.
28 See reference to Shriver letter in footnote 21.
29 The Mississippi law of 1846, which was typical, taxed peddlers in each county on the following scale: those who traveled on foot, $10; by horse, $20; in two-wheeled vehicles, $30; in four-wheeled vehicles, $40; in four-wheeled vehicles drawn by two horses, $50 (Acts of the General Assembly of Mississippi for 1846, Act approved Feb. 28, 1846). Most States levied the highest tax on those trading in boats, largely because of the greater quantity of goods which could be carried.
30 Schultz, Christian, Travels on an Inland Voyage (2 vols., New York, 1810), vol. ii, pp. 135–136Google Scholar.
31 Forman's journal of this trip has been edited by Draper, Lyman C. under the title, Narrative of a Journey Down the Ohio and Mississippi in 1789-90. By Major Samuel S. Forman (Cincinnati, 1888)Google Scholar.
32 Cuming's Tour to the Western Country, 1807-1809, pp. 62-63.
33 The Planter's Banner, Sept. 28, 1848.
34 A reference to the common reputation of such boats. They were constantly accused of trading for provisions or articles stolen from the more prosperous classes by poorer whites and slaves.
35 New Orleans. The Daily Crescent. Mar. 7. 1848.
36 Wright, op. cit., pp. 246-247, mentions such a practice.
37 Milledgeville. Georgia, Southern Recorder, May 16, 1829; also Mobile Commercial Register, May 27, 1829, taken in this case from the Georgia Journal.
38 Hardy & King, Letter Book. 1834-1843. Duke University Manuscript Collection.
39 Copy of a complaint registered by John Hook. Letter Book and Accounts, 1801-1809, in John Hook Papers,” 1752-1889, Duke University Manuscript Collection.
40 See, for example, advertisement of closing of estate of Isaac Marks in the Opelousas, Louisiana, Courier, Jan. 21, 1854.
41 The story of Upson's career, with liberal quotations from his letters, is given by Kline, Priscilla C. in “New Light on the Yankee Peddler,” New England Quarterly, vol. xii (Mar., 1939), pp. 80–98CrossRefGoogle Scholar. All references to and quotations from Upson in this present article are taken from the Kline article.
42 Jerome, Chauncey, History of the American Clock Business for the Past Sixty Years, and Life of Chauncey Jerome (New Haven, 1860), pp. 54 ffGoogle Scholar. The Virginia law of 1837 specified that peddlers of tinware should pay a license of $10 per county; peddlers of general items, $25 per county; and clock peddlers, $100 per county. All clocks were to be considered as having been made outside the State unless the vendor could convince revenue officers that they were of Virginia manufacture (Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia for 1836-37, pp. 3-4).
43 Keir, R. Malcolm, “The Tin Peddler,” Journal of Political Economy, vol. xxi (Mar., 1913), pp. 255–258CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
44 Advertisements of tinware for peddlers by merchants and tinsmiths in the Salisbury, North Carolina, paper, for example, were not uncommon. See Birkhead advertisements in Western Carolinian, Mar. 15, 1834, and Apr. 18, 1835.
45 Compiled from the data on occupations in Seventh Census of the United States, 1850, Washington, 1853. Figures for other southern States are as follows: Maryland, 181; Virginia, 150; North Carolina, 97; Mississippi, 72; Tennessee, 71; Alabama, 66; Georgia, 64; Texas, 22; Arkansas, 11; Florida, 7. There were far more peddlers operating in these States than the census figures indicate. As a migratory salesman the peddler was likely to be missed in the count, particularly since many tried to operate without paying the license fees in every community where they sold goods. Many who peddled in the South were from northern States and were probably listed from the North. Store-keepers who also peddled listed themselves as store-keepers rather than peddlers. The Opelousas, Louisiana, Courier, Jan. 28, 1860, estimated that 150 peddlers visited the local parish of St. Landry in the course of a year. On this basis the census figures on peddlers in Louisiana were far too low.
46 Compiled from Eighth Census, Washington, 1864.Google Scholar Figures for other southern States are: Kentucky, 269; Tennessee, 167; Maryland, 133; Mississippi, 96; Georgia, 91; Virginia, 71; Alabama, 61; Texas, 61; North Carolina, 57; South Carolina, 49; Arkansas, 47; Florida, 6.
47 Dodd, William E., The Cotton Kingdom: A Chronicle of the Old. South (New Haven, 1919), p. 24Google Scholar.
48 Entry, May 3, 1850, Mrs. Isaac H. Hilliard Diary, 1849-1850, Department of Archives, Louisiana State University.
49 Statutes of Mississippi Territory for 1807, Act approved Feb. 4, 1807.
50 Salisbury Western Carolinian, May 1, 1821.
51 The Weekly Comet, May 6, 1855.
52 Courier, Jan. 28, 1860. The same paper on Feb. 18, 1860, announced a public meeting of citizens to consider the bad conduct displayed by some peddlers in the parish.
53 Cited in Montgomery, Alabama, Journal, Feb. 3, 1841.
54 Petition in Box 45, Secretary of State Documents in office of State Archives and Land Office, Nashville.
55 During the 1840's the tax per county ranged as follows in various southern States: Tennessee, $30 (1848); Alabama, $75 (1848); Virginia, $50 (1845), although peddlers west of the Alleghany Mountains paid half-price; South Carolina, 55 cents on each $100 of stock in trade (1843)—same as for regular merchants; Mississippi, $50 (1846); Louisiana $20 (1830)—seems to have remained unchanged into the 1840's; North Carolina, $20 (1847); Georgia, $50 per county as a minimum and more at the pleasure of county authorities (1845); Florida, $40 (1846). These rates were for peddlers traveling in wagons. Distinctions often were made according to the type of article sold. For many years Virginia maintained a very low rate on tinware peddlers and a very high one on clock salesmen. Goods made within the State often could be sold without a license, and a few States also exempted bona fide book salesmen. The above figures are compiled from State statutes.
56 Eaton, Clement W., Freedom of Thought in the Old South (Durham, 1940), chap. ivGoogle Scholar.
57 Prince, Oliver H., A Digest of the Laws of the State of Georgia (Milledgeville, 1822)Google Scholar, Act approved Dec. 9, 1819. The Senate and House journals reveal that this Act passed the Senate by a vote of 24 to 17 and the House by a margin of 50 over 29. The writer has checked issues of both Savannah and Augusta papers issued at the time when the bill was before the legislature. The Augusta Chronicle and Georgia Gazette and the Savannah Republican were examined for the period November-December, 1819. Its routine progress was reported from time to time, and the Savannah paper stated that passage would mean a total prohibition of peddlers. In spite of the fact that considerable debate seems to have taken place over the matter, neither the legislative journals nor the newspapers consulted revealed the reasons for such a stringent policy. The tax was higher even than the rate demanded by mercantile opponents of peddlers, and the Act may have resulted from combined mercantile and planter pressure, one seeking to stifle competition and the other to insulate slaves against dangerous ideas.
58 Acts of the General Assembly of Georgia for 1831, Act approved Dec. 22, 1831. The measure specified a fine of $1,000 for each time a peddler traded with a slave without permission and not in sight of the owner. One-half of this was to go as a reward to the informer, a sufficiently large sum to encourage vigilance. The Journal of the Senate of Georgia for 1831 in its proceedings for December 7 and 8, 1831, reported the vote on final passage on December 7, 1831, as 39 to 27. A vote to reconsider the following day was defeated 40 to 27. Obviously the lines were closely drawn, with 27 men, some 40 per cent of the Senate, determined to defeat the measure as it stood. The journal gave no indication of motives behind these legislative maneuverings. Were the opponents of the measure motivated by a desire for only a slightly different form of control? The solidarity expressed in voting lines indicates a deeper split. Did they, then, represent opposition to the idea that the State must insulate itself against seditious sentiments; did they come from counties where slaves were unimportant and where peddlers were needed to supply a scattered population, thereby putting economic needs of the non-slaveholder in opposition to the slavocracy? A study of the legislative disputes revolving around proposals to curb peddlers in times of possible danger would offer considerable help in evaluating the extent to which southern opinion was actually disturbed by the threats of slave insurrections. The paper of Milledgeville, where the capital was located at the time, gave no indication of the purposes behind the law. A number of other measures to curb slaves were introduced at this session, however, and other State papers carried articles on the Nat Turner insurrection which had occurred in Virginia in August, 1831, and condemnations of northern anti-slavery leaders like Arthur Tappan. Sec Athens Athenian, December 20, 1831.
59 In addition, the peddler had to furnish a recognizance in the penalty of $1,000 for himself and $500 for each of two approved sureties who must be freeholders of the State. This bond was to ensure good conduct and to guarantee against trading with slaves or distributing seditious publications. Statutes at Large of South Carolina, 1814-1838, vol. vi, pp. 433-434.
60 Ibid., p. 529.
61 Acts of the General Assrmbly of Alabama for 1849-50, pp. 1-9.
62 Ibid., 1853-54, p. 251.
63 Ibid., 1859-60, p. 8.
64 The debate was reported in the New Orleans Daily Crescent, Mar. 5. 1860.