The Collins Line was America's attempt to maintain its supremacy over the merchant trade in the Atlantic, a status it maintained during the sailing packet era but began to lose with the advent of steamships. The British wanted to capture that dominance, especially since its navy was so formidable, and chose the newly formed Cunard Line to be their forerunning, being funded by generous subsidies from the Royal Mail. Edward Collins was the entrepreneur behind the Collins Line who saw the need for an American shipping company subsidized by the US Post Office in order to compete with Cunard, but the division in the United States as the Civil War drew closer led to objections, particularly from Southern Senators who didn't want their tax dollars funding a Northern company.

What would have likely been a successful shipping line was marked with disaster due to stipulations attached to the government subsidy, ultimately leading to the destruction of the man behind the enterprise.