Explore the dramatic rise and fall of Antebellum St. Louis in ‘Yankee Merchants and the Making of the Urban West.’ Discover how ambitious northeastern merchants transformed St. Louis into the commercial capital of the West by 1850, only to witness its swift decline by 1860 as Chicago emerged the dominant metropolis. This insightful history delves into the critical role of national politics and the escalating sectional crisis, revealing how these forces reshaped the influence of Yankee merchants and ultimately triggered the collapse of the trans-Mississippi West’s first great city. A must-read for understanding 19th-century American urbanization and the forces that shaped its urban landscapes. Uncover the intricate economic and political factors behind St. Louis’s fortunes.