American Clipper Ships: Tools of Commerce

The Sea Witch

Introduction

The American clipper ships, used mostly from 1845-1855, revolutionized overseas trade. Even though the usefulness of American clippers lasted only about a decade, they are memorialized still today in paintings, pictures, and as small and large scale models. Throughout this website, you will see a few paintings and small scale models of clipper ships used during this era of Maritime History. These new clipper ships were created first as a way to go from port to port in a much speedier fashion with their new narrow design. Donald McKay was the first shipbuilder to use principles of physics in order to create larger and faster ships. The port of Boston became the biggest market for building and creating these new clipper ships. England was always the supreme sea power and now America had one leg up on its closest neighbor and biggest competitor. Later on, around the same time as the California gold rush and the end of the Opium War in China, these clippers were used increasingly to ship goods overseas and to the West. Cargo on these ships included tea, gold, opium, coffee, slaves, and also large families from the Northeast. The use of these clipper ships throughout the 1850�s created an economic boom in America and around the world with America being looked to as the new major trading power. However, the popularity of these clipper ships grew just as fast as it ended. The creation of the Suez Canal and steamboats made the clipper ships obsolete. More power could be accumulated through steamboats and the Suez Canal made it so fast ships were not needed at the expense of carrying large loads of cargo. While the popularity clipper ships lasted only about a decade, the memory of these ships lives on in painitings and the American dream.

The Flying Cloud

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