Trusted Writing on History, Travel, and American Culture Since 1949
Gibbons v. Ogden
How a debt-ridden banana republic became the greatest economic engine the world has ever known
1. 1606: The Virginia Company is formed to seek profit from a new business: American settlement.
2. 1612: John Rolfe plants West Indian tobacco in Virginia, the cash crop that assures the colony’s success. Read more >>