Death of an empire

By Robert Booth

Subjects: Trials (murder), Biography, Massachusetts, economic conditions, Massachusetts, biography, Murder, massachusetts, Trials (Murder), Murder, Salem (mass.), history, Economic conditions, History

Description: Most readers know Salem only for the city's notorious witch trials. But years later it became a very different city, one that produced America's first millionaire (still one of history's 75 wealthiest men) and boasted a maritime trade that made it the country's richest city. Westward expansion and the industrial revolution would eventually erode Salem's political importance, but it was a shocking murder and the scandal that followed which led at last to its fall from national prominence. This book is the tale of a little-known but remarkably rich era of American history, drawing in characters such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Quincy Adams, and Daniel Webster.