Life on the frontier in the decades before the Revolution was extremely difficult and uncertain. It was a world populated by Native Americans, merchants, fur traders, land speculators, soldiers and settlers—including women, slaves, and indentured servants. Each of these groups depended on the others in some way, and collectively they formed the patchwork that was life on the frontier. Using a wealth of material culled from primary sources, Dunn paints a vivid picture of a world caught up in the winds of change, a world poised on the edge of revolution. Life on the frontier in the decades before the Revolution was extremely difficult and uncertain. It was a world populated by Indians, merchants, fur traders, land speculators, soldiers and settlers—including women, slaves, and indentured servants. Each of these groups depended on the others in some way, and collectively they formed the patchwork that was life on the frontier. Using a wealth of material culled from primary sources, Dunn paints a vivid picture of a world caught up in the winds of change, a world poised on the edge of revolution. In the 15 years preceding the American Revolution, the existence of the frontier exerted a dominant influence on the colonial economy. The possibility of new territory in the West and the removal of the French army offered an enormous opportunity for economic expansion but such prospects were not without risk. Farmers worked endlessly to clear a few scant acres for production. Traders struggled to reach remote areas to bargain with local tribes. Merchants weighted the possibilities for enormous profit with huge risk. Native Americans faced increasing encroachment upon their traditional lands. Women and slaves played a greater role in opening the frontier than many sources have indicated.

This book describes the creation of a new economy in the Soviet Union from 1930 to 1945. The Red Army defeated the Germans in World War II with equipment produced by that economy and not with masses of untrained men as has been often argued. The Soviet weapons were produced in factories designed and built under the direction of American engineers in the 1930s. Also, the Weimar Republic played a part in the creation of the Red Army by providing aviation and tank training schools and technical assistance to the developing armaments industry. Dunn argues that if France had been invaded by the Allies in 1943 rather than in 1944, the post-war world would have been less advantageous to the Soviet Union.

During the Seven Years War the British economy had expanded rapidly to meet the demands of equipping the army and navy as well as subsidizing Britain's European allies. After the war, the economy was left without sufficient markets to absorb the extra production. This situation led to a persistent drive to open new markets, especially in the American colonies. When the British decided to maintain an army in America after 1764, these troops became a major market for the colonists who provided them with beef, pork, flour, and rum. Colonists also sold manufactured goods to French settlers in Illinois and fur traders west of the Mississippi.

Organization of this trade to provide the most cost-effective means of supplying goods to the frontier was achieved through refinements in financial, transportation, and production techniques. By the end of 1768, competition between American merchants increased, and prices dropped dramatically. Meanwhile, British troops began moving back toward the East Coast, further depriving the colonial merchants of a major market. This period marked a severe setback for colonial merchants on the frontier and added fuel to the fires of discontent with British policies.

By 1760, with the alleviation of the French threat to the western frontier, colonial fur traders headed west to reap the bounty of trade with the local tribes. However, when dissatisfied French interests conspired to instigate a revolt, the resulting Pontiac Uprising would force the British to rethink colonial trade policy. The fur traders, who had considered the British government their ally in exploiting the west, now saw the British allying themselves with the French and local tribes to keep the colonists out of the region. The prominent merchants who suffered financially and received no compensation would soon come to oppose British rule.

The fur trade and land speculation were two driving forces in the westward spread of merchant interests, but the promise of such riches would remain unfulfilled. Regulation of the trade would prove an enormous expense for the British; thus, to avoid the financial burden as well as to remove ill-treatment of the Native Americans as a cause for conflict, the Proclamation of 1763 prohibited settlement west of the mountains. The resulting dissatisfaction among the traders and speculators cost the British the support of colonial merchants. This book is an informative account of the interaction of economic, political, and social concerns on the western frontier.