Death of an Empire: The Rise and Murderous Fall of Salem, America's Richest City

by Robert Booth

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.

Death of an Empire is a finely-written 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.

Genres: History, True Crime, Nonfiction, American History, Historical, Witches

352 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1994

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This man is a five-star teller of anecdotes and a one-star writer of history. First the good: the anecdotes are superb. Full disclosure: I am a Salem native and grew up hearing the names of the historical figures in the book both as people and names of streets, etc. It might have been more riveting for someone in my position to read about these people behind the names; it's hard to determine this. I'll certainly never look at the Salem Common in the same way again.

The bad: while the author does have a central, dramatic point to the story, it is not revealed until almost page 200 of a 297 page book(!). I don't care if he did not have a central argument to make, other history books that are more general narrations about the lives of multiple people have been far more expertly crafted (The Mitford Sisters is a great example). It felt as though I were reading well-authored bits of a People magazine, with snippets sprinkled here and there. Any overarching structure was completely lacking.

However, I cannot express how pleased I was that someone has finally written something about Salem's maritime past. It is worth a read, especially if you grew up in the area. Enough about the 1692 witchcraft trials already- this topic far more interesting.

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

So completely disappointed by this book. The subject matter is (to me, at least) completely fascinating but it's absolutely squandered on some incredibly awkward and just clunky writing. Booth somehow managed to find the least graceful way of writing almost every sentence and after the first chapter (which closes with "indivisible, with slavery, Indian clearances, industrial development, and manifest destiny for all" which was such a tormented cliche I could barf), I just gave up.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love history and seeing this title just took hold of me. Although the writer seems to have a good grasp on the history of Salem, I found it a really dry read to the point my attention kept wavering. I also found the moments he was describing very confusing, times seemed to be switching back & forth with not much sense.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subject matter: 5 stars
Writing: 2 stars
As a tour guide in Salem, I found the stories compelling and interesting, bringing more detail to the history I already knew. I really enjoyed the accurate information presented throughout.
The writing, however, is poor. It seemed the author was trying for dramatic effect but I found it very confusing and unnecessary in a history book. Stories were split as the author took tangents with the characters and the main point of the section was sometimes not returned to for several pages. Characters were sometimes referred to by last name only, which causes problems when there are several members of the same family involved in the narrative. I had to flip back and forth several times to figure out which person was the subject.
I would recommend the book, but read it section by section rather than chapter by chapter. There are too many topics covered in each chapter to find more than a cursory theme among them.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, the copy on this jacket grabbed me at the library. Reading it after some seafaring melodrama by O'Brien and Forester, I was fascinated by the detail of commercial shipping from Salem. Then, when the American and global economy sours, a conspiracy among old monied family members sours, too. The true crime story is less compelling than the presentation of global seafaring. The particular presentation of Daniel Webster as bought and paid for by the protagonist is particularly compelling.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half. Booth's work provides historical, political, and especially and importantly, social context for the crest and decline of Salem, Massachusetts, as an early American port, once one of the wealthiest in the young country. Though important world events are sometimes cursorily treated, Death of an Empire's greatest strength lies in its weaving of the tangled web of familial power structures that formed the local (and for a time, national) politics of the region. Those entanglements can be hard to follow, though, as Booth jumps around town (and ship) frequently. Applause to the author, however, for his refreshing attempts to reach outside of the strict white male narratives typical of published American historical pieces. While the title's murder plot receives more heavy billing in the book than it is due, such is the way of Salem (wink). This is a worthwhile read for those interested in the seafaring lifestyle and events that really put Salem on the map.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of generous giving it two stars, I know the author probably put a lot of work into this. My 'into trivia and history' boss recommended it, and it looked pretty cool on the cover, but the book was mostly boring, filled with anecdotes, breaks, unconnected pieces of research he found and put into the book. It was more interesting for a while starting about page 200 where someone was murdered, and I guess there was more historical data about this event which made it a little more coherent as a story. As a recitation of historical facts, it had lots of info, and if you really wanted to learn about that era in New England you could be interested, but in choosing a book to read, I wouldn't recommend this one.

[David E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Treasure Trove Of Information, But ...

Death of an Empire contains a wealth of information about Salem, Massachusetts throughout the 1820s and the 1830s. For this reason alone, it's worth reading. If only the book had been better written it would have been a more enjoyable read.

[Text Addict · Rating 3 out of 5]

An very interesting read, but I don't think its effort to weave a multi-stranded narrative over decades was truly successful - I often found the multiple transitions and short sections in a chapter annoying or confusing.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting to read about an area where we used to live and where HJ was born

[Dorothy Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murders, and tariffs and white supremacy.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't perfect, but I would still recommend it to anyone interested in New England history. It is one of the only books out there that I know of about Salem's history that does NOT deal with the witch trials. And the witch trials, let's face it, are played out. They are very interesting and all that, but come on...Salem has centuries of history to delve into, including a period around 1790 when it was one of the ten biggest cities in the country and fabulously wealthy, and sent ships all around the world to places like China and Sumatra and was a major player in global trade. You give the country all this great history and no interest, but you hang a few dozen innocent people on witchcraft charges...
This book is all about how Salem's wealth and power as a port slipped away, and it is also about a sensational murder trial of the time period. The murder was interesting and all, but I sort of wished the author had spent more time on the trade. I would have liked more about all the different countries they visited, and why they were trading with those places, and high seas adventure and that kind of thing. The murder trial lost me after a while.
But still. Worth a read anyway.

[Melanie Guerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is great in the fact that it sheds light on a period of new england history that is both vital and often largely overlooked. salem has become trivialized by the exploitation of the witch trials of the 17th century, but its history is far more vibrant, exciting and important. there is much to be learned in these pages about the 19th century shipping industry, the beginnings of the industrial revolution and its impact on commerce, the society who thrived there and eventually brought their wealth, political power and business prowess to boston. my disappointment with this book is in the writing itself. the author clearly did much research, but it seems most of the story is foot-noted and is just paraphrasing the documents he found. there are quoted paragraphs that go into great detail about attire, cuisine and other minutia that drone on and lose the focus of the story. throughout, there are references to people and events without clarification, and for all the aforementioned tiny details, many large, interesting ones are left unexplained. this could have been a spectacular insight to a magnificent era, but alas the writing robs it of its greatness. this is still worth reading if you are interested in history, scandal, or new england in general.

[Scott Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excerpt from my Kenosha News ‘Off the Shelf’ column - In “Death of an Empire, the Rise and Murderous Fall of Salam, America’s Richest City” by Robert Booth examines the little know and over-shadowed history of Salam, Massachusetts. Beyond the famous witch trials 100 years before, Salem of the mid-1700’s was the richest city in the republic. For decades, Salem connected America with the rest of the world, through a large fleet of tall ships and commerce and as a result becoming a model of international relations. This book looks at the history of the city through pre-war and revolutionary times, the post-war trade embargos, westward expansion, tariffs, ultimately leading up to piracy, scandal and murder.
The story follows two men, one, a progressive merchant-politician who built new institutions and businesses, and still ranked as one of the wealthiest men in history, the other, a reclusive corrupt crime lord with murderous intents. An ensuing economic collapse, scandal and the trial that followed signaled Salem's fall from national prominence, a fall that echoed around the world.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, when I said “The Lace Reader” (which takes place in Salem, MA) had some redeeming aspects, one is that it made me turn to this book, which is a history of Salem's glory days and decline in the late 1700s and first decades of the 1800s. I'd had no idea just how rich and powerful a city Salem was, and progressive and cultured as well – nor how inevitable a decline it endured as commerce and shipping changed dramatically throughout the 19th century. What's more, a murder of a prestigious citizen by the offspring of another prestigious citizen is part of the city's denouement, and it certainly adds a different dimension to the history. The only drawback to this recounting is the author's seeming inability to omit even one single fact that he came across in his research – really I don't need to know the route and cargo and crew members' names of every single sailing vessel that ever left Salem, but you can tell the author worked really hard and collected so much information that he's loathe to leave anything out. With some artful skimming, though, you'll still get an interesting read out of this.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of the book is misleading since the murder referenced in it was not in any way related to the fall of Salem though it happened during its downward economic spiral. The failure of Salem was due to a combination of political and economic issues (tariffs on one hand and the move to manufacturing on the other). I just didn't see the murder as symbolic in any way of the "fall" of Salem.

I found the author's tendency towards omniscience overdone--he takes liberties. He tells the reader how the different protagonists felt at particular moments when he really has no way of knowing how they felt. I realize that he is just trying to make the narrative more vivid but an omniscient narrator should not have such a prominent place in a straightforward history--it belongs in fiction.

[Ebirdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author was very knowledgeable and really enthusiastic about his subject. His structure though was confusing; there were a lot of characters, often with the same names (Jrs. and Srs.) and he kind of jumped amongst them.

It would have been helpful to have one of the footnotes included in the actual text. I had no idea that "tons" with sailing ships of that time referred to volume, not weight, until I read the footnote afterwards. Also he used the phrase "burthen" repeatedly. I had to look it up to be sure I knew what it meant. The only jarring note was the author's very strong personal opinion of Daniel Webster. I felt it was out of place in this type of book.

All in all I would recommend this book if you like reading about a slice of American history. It changed my understanding of how America conducted itself in the world at this time in a positive way, and I learned a lot.

[Susanne]

This is a pet subject of mine, so my reading experience of it was: fact, fact, that bit's made up, fact, fact, omg total fiction alert, fact, that bit's wrong, fact rinse and repeat.

It seems like the author was forced to throw in the murder to "spice up" the book - Make Age of Sail more marketable! Blood!

Marketing is also probably the mindset behind the embellishment--and even complete fictionalization in some parts--of what people are thinking/feeling/doing when there is no actual record, or even mere reason to suspect, any of it.

Which is sad because Salem's economic world domination and later fall to Boston and New York is really a good enough story on its own.

[John Vibber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised by this tale of Salem’s heyday and decline, but my greatest enjoyment came from Robert Booth’s skillful creation of a little-known era: a time when the central dynamic of American history wasn’t our North/South divide. Then it was East versus West, Federalist versus Republican, and Jacksonian versus Whig. Here is a grand battle that waged conflicting dreams against vested interests.

[Kelly Kilcrease · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the mercantile analysis of Salem and how it was once a great trading city. However, the book was a bit choppy in places with a number of names coming and going throughout. I would have like to learn more about the trial (especially with the influence of Daniel Webster). Further, could the murder and trial have had a more clearer symbolic meaning toward the death of Salem? If so, the author needed to clearly show this.

[M. Mangan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The commercial history of Salem is not the one that usually comes to mind when you hear the name of this city. But it was a worthy look at a classic boom + bust period in a time of a greatly changing country. It was definitely something I haven't seen covered from this perspective before, about a favorite local spot of mine. Enjoyed it overall.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic view of the history of Essex County in the early 1800's (even including a murder), which is an integral part of the history of the United States. I had no idea how important Salem was to the economy of the US. Great history that combines the commerce with the personal histories of the great families of Salem.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow to start. After the introduction, the pace of the book picked up.

[Shane Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ironically the fall of Salem was due, in part, to lack of wind or water to power mill buildings. We now have a nuclear reactor of our very own.

[S]

What a great history of Salem MA.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, quick read.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

better than fiction.