Auf ein Miniaturbild klicken, um zu Google Books zu gelangen.
Lädt ... The Founders and Finance: How Hamilton, Gallatin, and Other Immigrants Forged a New Economyvon Thomas K. McCraw
Lädt ...
Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. A superb history and a great understanding of Hamilton and Gallatin and the early years of this country. I am most surprised that a Harvard Business School professor is so sympathetic to the needs of the common people. The footnotes are a joy to read. He even cites White's "It's Your Misfortune And None Of My Own" which is by far the best history of the American West that I have ever read. Zeige 3 von 3 keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
In 1776 the United States government started out on a shoestring and quickly went bankrupt fighting its War of Independence against Britain. At the war's end, the national government owed tremendous sums to foreign creditors and its own citizens. But lacking the power to tax, it had no means to repay them. The Founders and Finance is the first book to tell the story of how foreign-born financial specialists-immigrants-solved the fiscal crisis and set the United States on a path to long-term economic success. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas K. McCraw analyzes the skills and worldliness of Alexander Hamilton (from the Danish Virgin Islands), Albert Gallatin (from the Republic of Geneva), and other immigrant founders who guided the nation to prosperity. Their expertise with liquid capital far exceeded that of native-born plantation owners Washington, Jefferson, and Madison, who well understood the management of land and slaves but had only a vague knowledge of financial instruments-currencies, stocks, and bonds. The very rootlessness of America's immigrant leaders gave them a better understanding of money, credit, and banks, and the way each could be made to serve the public good. The remarkable financial innovations designed by Hamilton, Gallatin, and other immigrants enabled the United States to control its debts, to pay for the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, and-barely-to fight the War of 1812, which preserved the nation's hard-won independence from Britain. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
Aktuelle DiskussionenKeineBeliebte Umschlagbilder
Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)330.973Social sciences Economics Economics Economic geography and history North America United StatesKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
Bist das du?Werde ein LibraryThing-Autor. |
As someone who's read Ron Chernow's biography, there was little in the Hamilton section that was new. But it was well-done and concise.
The Gallatin section was more interesting, because I knew less about Gallatin.
But I felt the book didn't really transcend the sum of its parts. It did a good job highlighting Hamilton's and Galatin's similarities — their immigrant backgrounds, their support for banks and commerce (versus agriculture), their role as administrators and advisers to Virginian presidents. This is interesting stuff, especially McCraw's thesis that a shared immigrant background made the two men more open to commerce.
Where it fell short was in contrasting the two. As a brief section discussing Gallatin's tenure in Congress highlights, the Pennsylvanian had some big differences with Hamilton's financial system. But the chapters on Gallatin's service as Treasury secretary largely wave these away. Instead they focus on their similarities. Gallatin's preference for less regulation and a smaller debt than Hamilton are mentioned almost in passing. A sharper focus on the differences between their worldview would have not only been helpful new information but it would have also brought their similarities into sharper relief. ( )