Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street | Historical Context
The Triumph of Capitalism
At the time Melville wrote ''Bartleby the Scrivener,'' New York City was firmly entrenched as the financial center of the United States's economy. It had been the nation's leading port during the colonial era, and by the mid-nineteenth century, New York overflowed with banks, credit institutions, insurance companies, brokerage houses, and a thriving stock exchange—all of which put its business community at the forefront of the ''organizational revolution" in American economic institutions. By the 1850s, the development of capitalism in New York...
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