Sustainable Industry in the Early American Republic

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Natural resources are one factor of industrial production that, along with economic, geographic and cultural factors, will shape an enterprise and influence its chances of success. Entrepreneurs may devclop a sustainable enterprise based on renewable or abundant resourses, or they might follow a strategy that depletes a scarce local resource, or they might rely on materials and energy brought in from distant sources. Each of these choices has consequences for the local economy, environment, and society. In early years of the republic, entrepreneurs in the upper Housatonic River basin of Connecticut chose to rely on indigenous resources, while those in the lower reaches of the river basin followed a distinctly different path. Using documentary and material evidence, the project will assess the comparative advantages (of resources, demand for products, and connections with related industries) enjoyed by entrepreneurs in these two locations, explaining how geographic, physical and cultural factors influenced entrepreneurs' decisions.