ABSTRACT
NEW YORK CITY was the capital of the confederated American colonies at the time of the Revolution; and it was the first capital of the United States of America. But not since 1790 has it served as the political headquarters of the nation. It has, however, from the very first been an increasingly important commercial centre, and has never been challenged as paramount in fmancial affairs. For this there was the very good reason that the harbour was superb, and was superbly located in a strategic position on the Atlantic coast. Access to the hinterland was easier from New York, also, than from any other port. The New York Central Railroad, which in the mid-nineteenth century thrust westward first to Buffalo at the eastern end of Lake Erie, and then on to Chicago, has always advertised itself as 'the water-level route'; and, indeed, it paralleled the Erie CanalI which, by using a few locks, had by this time firmly established the port of New York as the gateway to the interior.
