By contrast, the Northern States were still concerned with commerce as the very lifeblood of their existence.

New England had not dreamed of the millions of spindles which should hum on the banks of her rivers and lure her young men and women from the farms to the clamorous factory towns.

The city of New York had not yet outgrown its traffic in furs and its magnificent commercial destiny was still unrevealed.

It was a considerable seaport but not yet a gateway.

From Sandy Hook, however, to the stormy headlands of Maine, it was a matter of life and death that ships should freely come and go with cargoes to exchange.