Rise of The Global Capitol

At this time, New York finally began to dominate other cities in terms of trade volume and size. Due to its previous occupation by the British military for most of the Revolutionary War, it was chosen as the sole American port that they would trade through. Not only had this set a precedent for other countries when trading with the United States, but it made the most economic sense because it was the largest port at the most central location in the young country at the time being between northern Maine and southern Georgia. Should a merchant want to sell wares throughout the United States it was easier to go through New York for lower transportation costs throughout the country. (Glaeser)
Secondly, trade was far easier and profitable to be done in bulk from the central location, rather than from traditional “point to point” methods. Areas producing raw goods and staple commodities often did not import enough to warrant a trip directly to them, so instead raw materials would be sent in bulk to New York, which traded them for manufactured goods from Europe, and New York would redistribute these goods back throughout the colonies. Overtime the effect of this grew, as New York City was the first port to establish and maintain this role as a connector with the rest of the world. In addition, its harbor was the only one that even could handle the large trade volumes in the first place as ships began to carry millions of tons of cargo in the 1800s. (Glaeser)
The massive volumes of trade and contact with other cultures throughout the world brought many immigrants to the city over the years. This pattern became even more exaggerated with the advent of manufacturing, as it allowed for ever larger economies of scale. Sugar refining was the first major industry in the city, as building the refineries were so expensive, it made sense to only have a few of them near the major port of transport so as to cut costs as much as possible. The immigrant population benefited from the jobs these refineries offered, and the refineries could easily expand over time to allow for more workers at a consistent profit. (Glaeser)

Textiles and ready-made clothes soon overtook sugar refining as the largest manufacturing business in the city. Once again it benefited from the ease of access to the largest port in the country and from large numbers of immigrant workers. Textiles proved to be more profitable however, as it matched up with the skill sets of many of the immigrants entering the United States through New York, and required less space or power than other industries. Many immigrants simply plugged in their own sowing machines and worked from home. (Glaeser)
Finally, there was the publishing industry. The United States had not yet recognized foreign copyrights, so merchants often smuggled popular titles abroad into the city so that they may print and distribute them in America for a larger profit. (“International Copyright”) English novels were the most popular, and easiest to retrieve at New York due to the city’s frequent trade with Liverpool in England. It also hints towards the rise of New York as an information economy, for the second portion of the publishing industry was centered on newspapers. With the sheer volumes of trade occurring in the city, whoever had the best information, first, stood the greatest chance to profit. As a result, the demand for newspapers soared as several news companies offered different and accurate information on a variety of business topics. This portion of publishing is still prominent in the city today due to the maintained importance of timely information. (Glaeser)

whoever had the best information, first, stood the greatest chance to profit