Faith and Fortune is a history of the United States of America between 1780 and 1880. Using the love story of Captain Henry Champlin and his wife Amelia as the narrative vehicle, this book illuminates a remarkable yet forgotten story of the transatlantic packet ships that sailed between New York and London. These large, swift moving vessels, built to endure the harsh North Atlantic, transported raw cotton, finished textiles, mail, artwork, bills of exchange, and gold bullion in their holds; and immigrants and wealthy travelers in their passenger quarters. The narrative begins with the births of Henry and Amelia Champlin in the Connecticut shipbuilding town of Pettipaug (renamed Essex in 1823), and continues through the War of 1812, the construction and vast economic impact of the Erie Canal, the establishment of regularly-scheduled shipping service between New York and Great Britain, the Champlins' family life in Essex and New York, the development of the transatlantic steamship, the turmoil of Civil War, and the decline of the American merchant marine (and seafaring families like the Champlins) during the Gilded Age. The story is a window into so much of American history: small-town New England life; the growth of New York City; the Second Great Awakening; American architecture and material culture; advances in shipbuilding and technology; mass-immigration from Ireland during the Potato Famine; slavery and abolitionism; the temperance movement; relations between the young United States, France, and Great Britain; and the role of women in the Early Republic/Mid-Victorian eras. Faith and Fortune is a compelling, moving story of the young United States that appeals to anyone interested in American cultural and economic history.
Steven Ujifusa is a historian with a passion for telling stories of the American experience. His third book, The Last Ships from Hamburg: Business, Rivalry, and the Race to Save Russia's Jews on the Eve of World War I, tells the story of Eastern European Jewish immigration to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was named by Publishers Weekly as one of the best books of the year and by National Public Radio as a "Book of the Day." He is also the author of Barons of the Sea: And Their Race to Build the World's Fastest Clipper Ship and A Man and His Ship: America's Greatest Naval Architect and His Quest to Build the SS United States. He lives in Philadelphia, PA. Geoffrey Paul is a long-time resident of Essex, Connecticut who has immersed himself in the history of his hometown since childhood. As a teenager, Geoffrey worked in local antique shops, where he learned the power of objects to tell stories and to recover history lost to time. Geoffrey later graduated from Rollins College with a degree in Economics and Business, and then pursued a career on Wall Street. But his passion for history was always present and he spent subsequent decades researching local history, seeking out descendants of local families and bringing objects and archives of relevance back to Essex. This lifelong study has allowed Geoffrey to make meaningful contributions to the written history of the area and to provide many popular lectures and presentations. Objects from Geoffrey's collections have been loaned to or acquired by numerous institutions including the Winterthur Museum, Connecticut Historical Society, Yale University Art Gallery, Peabody Essex Museum, Florence Griswold Museum, Connecticut River Museum, and others. His activities, together with other family members, have also included the acquisition and preservation of numerous historic properties such as the Griswold Inn and the Captain Henry and Amelia Champlin home in Essex.
