The American line: (1871-1902)

"The American Line tells the story of the first successful American steamship line after the Civil War to rival the great European transatlantic companies - an important and glorious chapter in the history of the American Merchant Marine. [...] 1873 saw the first attempt at establishing a new American-flag steamship line to carry passengers and cargo across the North Atlantic from Philadelphia to Liverpool: the American Steamship Company, which began with the financial backing of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and the Philadelphia Quaker community. It would eventually evolve into the American Line (1893), which succeeded in restoring American prestige on the North Atlantic, and became the founding unit of the International Merchantile Marine, the giant shipping trust of 1902. At the same time [...] other American Quaker merchants [...] sought to establish another steamship line under a flag-of-convenience. Thus the International Navigation Company, more familiarly known as the Red Star Line, begun operations in 1873, flying the Belgian flag, using British-built ships, and running them with foreign crews between Antwerp and Philadelphia. Focusing on the largely unkown but highly eventful early history of the American Line, this book offers insight into both the triumphs and the set-backs of American shipping companies in the last three decades of the nineteenth century."--Provided by the publisher.