Mercantile agencies, or commercial agencies, are organizations that are designed to collect, record, and distribute to regular clients information relative to the standing of commercial firms. They thus act as a sort of

clearing house Clearing house or Clearinghouse may refer to: Banking and finance * Clearing house (finance) * Automated clearing house * ACH Network, an electronic network for financial transactions in the U.S. * Bankers' clearing house * Cheque clearing * Cl ...

of information on customers' reliability. In

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and other some

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

countries, trade protective societies composed of merchants and tradesmen have been formed for the promotion of trade; their members exchange information regarding the standing of business houses. The societies had their origin in the associations formed in the mid-18th century for the purpose of disseminating information regarding bankruptcies, assignments and bills of sale. The mercantile agency in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

is a much more comprehensive organization and came into existence after the financial crisis of 1837. Trade in the United States had become scattered over a wide territory, communications were slow, and town merchants lacked adequate information as to the standing of many businessmen seeking credit. The severity of the collapse of 1837 was partly caused by to the insufficiency of that information.

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

merchants had suffered so severely that they were determined to organize a headquarters where reports regarding the standing of customers could be exchanged.

Lewis Tappan Lewis Tappan (May 23, 1788 – June 21, 1873) was a New York abolitionist who worked to achieve freedom for the enslaved Africans aboard the '' Amistad''. Tappan was also among the founders of the American Missionary Association in 1846, which b ...

(1788–1873), the founder of the ''

Journal of Commerce ''The Journal of Commerce'' is a biweekly magazine published in the United States that focuses on global trade topics. First published in 1827 in New York, it has a circulation of approximately 15,000. It provides editorial content to manage da ...

'' (1828) and a prominent

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

leader, undertook the work by establishing there in 1841 the ''Mercantile Agency'', later Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, the first organization of its kind. The system has been developed and extended since.

See also