Interplay of political/economic environment and monetary affairs in the early history of the United States

An examination of how political issues influence public finance.

The first comprehensive financial history of the United States in more than thirty years. Accessible to undergraduate level readers, it focuses on the growth and expansion of banking, securities, and insurance from the colonial period right up to the incredible growth of the stock market during the 1990s and the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. The author traces the origins of American finance to the older societies of Europe and Northern Africa, and shows how English merchants transferred their financial systems to America. He explains how financial matters dominated the founding and development of the colonies, and how financial concerns incited the Revolution. And he shows how the Civil War began the transformation of America from a small economy largely dependent on foreign capital into a complex capitalist society. From the Civil War, the nation's financial history breaks down into periods of frenzied speculation, quiet growth, periodic panics, and furious periods of expansion, right up through the incredible growth of the stock market during the 1990s.

This new reference by the author of the critically acclaimed A Financial History of the United States covers the aftermath of the Enron-era scandals and the extraordinary financial developments during the period

Investors who ignore the past are lost in the present and blind to the future. Most people rely only on their life experience to make investment decisions. This causes them to overlook cyclical forces that repeatedly reshape economies and markets. Investing in U.S. Financial History fills this void by recounting the comprehensive financial history of the United States of America. It begins with Alexander Hamilton’s financial programs in 1790 and ends with the Federal Reserve’s battle with inflation in 2023. Authored by Mark Higgins, an experienced investment advisor and financial historian, this book will help you: • Understand key drivers of financial crises and the principles for managing them. • Recognize warning signs of speculative manias that lead to asset bubbles. • Understand why few investors outperform market indices and why index funds are preferable for most individuals and institutions. • Identify the major threats to U.S. economic prosperity in the twenty-first century. Investing in U.S. Financial History reveals that there is almost no financial event that is unprecedented. By understanding the fundamental drivers underpinning key economic events, you will internalize investment principles, avoid common pitfalls, and resist the temptation to panic amid market volatility.

Mark Geiger explores a financial conspiracy at the start of the American Civil War, the impact this had on the intensity of the guerilla campaigns in Missouri & the enduring ramifications for that state through the period of Reconstruction.