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One Nation Under Debt: Hamilton, Jefferson, and the History of What We Owe
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 336.73
EAN: 9780071543934
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0071543937
Label: McGraw-Hill
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 256
Publication Date: February 20, 2008
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Studio: McGraw-Hill
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Editorial Review:Like its current citizens, the United States was born in debt-a debt so deep that it threatened to destroy the young nation. Thomas Jefferson considered the national debt a monstrous fraud on posterity, while Alexander Hamilton believed debt would help America prosper. Both, as it turns out, were right.
One Nation Under Debt explores the untold history of America's first national debt, which arose from the immense sums needed to conduct the American Revolution. Noted economic historian Robert Wright, Ph.D. tells in riveting narrative how a subjugated but enlightened people cast off a great tyrant-“but their liberty, won with promises as well as with the blood of patriots, came at a high price.” He brings to life the key events that shaped the U.S. financial system and explains how the actions of our forefathers laid the groundwork for the debt we still carry today.
As an economically tenuous nation by Revolution's end, America's people struggled to get on their feet. Wright outlines how the formation of a new government originally reduced the nation's debt-but, as debt was critical to this government's survival, it resurfaced, to be beaten back once more. Wright then reveals how political leaders began accumulating massive new debts to ensure their popularity, setting the financial stage for decades to come.
Wright traces critical evolutionary developments-from Alexander Hamilton's creation of the nation's first modern capital market, to the use of national bonds to further financial goals, to the drafting of state constitutions that created non-predatory governments. He shows how, by the end of Andrew Jackson's administration, America's financial system was contributing to national growth while at the same time new national and state debts were amassing, sealing the fate for future generations.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Economics and history perfectly mixed
Dr. Wright's presentation of the nation's first national debt is both engrossing and informative. Perhaps it is his background as an historian, but regardless, his presentation of economics is straightforward and makes for a good read from the layperson's point of view.
Wright shows Alexander Hamilton as the genius that he truly was. While critics of Hamilton tend to focus on his behind-the-scenes machinations during the 1800 election, Wright allows Hamilton's financial wizardry (which ... Read More
Rating: - easy and accessable
Anyone intersted in US history will enjoy this book, it was an easy read on what I thought would be a complicated subject.
The author keeps the subject interesting by mixing the "big picture" of international finance with political skullduggery at home and shines more light on the much maligned Alexander Hamilton's role in safeguarding America's first years.
Rating: - A subject matter to which many more should be privy
Why do governments go into debt ? How do they pay for it ? Is that debt a good thing or a bad thing; that is to say, is a national debt a blessing or a curse ? Just what was the breakdown and nature of America's first national debt ? These are just some of the questions answered in Robert Wright's latest work.
It would not be bad bet to wager that few of us in the United States know how and why we incurred our first national debt. Maybe more importantly, even fewer of us probably realize ... Read More
Rating: - Insightful
This book provides rare insight into the financial foundations of the US economy. Supporting data, trends, and documentation add additional color to this thoughtful commentary on early american economic history. This obviously knowledgeable author writes in a very readeable style. The book was fantastically insightful.
Rating: - Wrght's financial genius hits another homerun
Bob Wright's tenth book proves once again his keen ability to link our economic history to present trends. In these times of economic instability, one owes it to oneself to become educated. This does not mean education in regard to the current and near future "guesses" of what may come financially, but more importantly on how we have arrived here.
A must read. Regards... Michael W. Vasta
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