A Connecticut Merchant This 1789 portrait of Elijah Boardman by Ralph Earl depicts a successful merchant in his Connecticut dry goods store. Boardman served in the Continental Army and became a political supporter of Thomas Jefferson. The Neutrality Act of 1793 increased commercial opportunities abroad, especially in the West Indies, allowing affluent merchants to expand their businesses, hire skilled craftsmen, and build elegant homes. Image copyright © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY