309. Joint Efforts Started by the Founding Fathers

February 22, 1784 was an important day in United States history. On that day the Empress of China sailed off the New York Harbor for Canton, China. The owners of the ship who were also founding fathers of the United States were aboard for the run to Sandy Hook. The ship exchanged salutes with harbor batteries when she sailed down the bay.

The Empress of China served as a vivid symbol of the great cooperation in American history. This cooper-sheathed ship was built in Baltimore and financed in Philadelphia; the business manager was from Boston. The ship started her adventure at New York. The united efforts behind the great sail tell a great story of the United States, which waged its heroic struggle to rise above the economic blockage by the British. Clearly, without this great cooperation among the newly independent states, it was unthinkable for her great success.