How Did Money Affect Colonial America

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Money has always held a very big part in American’s lives. The first forms of money were objects such as cattle and agriculture. As time went on, the forms of money changed in a positive way. Money was used to keep things organized and controlled. Not only does money hold order, but it shapes foreign and economic policies. Every year, the power money has only increases. In order for people to survive in the colonial times, they had to trade with other groups and areas. Each colony had different specialties that were needed by all. For the basic needs to be spread, the colonies traded the things that they grew or had large amounts of. Although money has been around for hundreds of years, the way the colonists used money in the 1600’s has influenced the way Americans use money today.

The first settlers in America helped shape the way money is given and used to this day. The key to surviving in the colonies was by trade. The first settlers had the idea that …show more content…
The lack of money supply was the main issue, which soon led to bartering. Bartering was an exchange of goods without using currency. Unique food, such as fish and tobacco, were not available everywhere. This is due to the fact that certain areas did not have the necessities specific animals and food required in order to grow and flourish. On that note, unique food held more value, which convinced Englishmen to set redeemable restrictions on them. The things colonists distributed would be exchanged in return for things holding similar value. This new arrangement seemed manageable for the British, but that was not the case for the colonists. Colonists preferred to use coins to pay for their goods in order to gain more independence over the immense power they occupied. The Currency Act of 1764 built a new standard for money that stated paper money was not redeemable in the colonies. The British anticipated to use this act as their opportunity to gain more
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