American Financial History

Throughout time, from ancient Rome to modern Britain, the great empires built and maintained their domination through force of arms and political power. But not the United States. America has dominated the world in a new, peaceful, and pervasive way - through the continued creation of staggering wealth. In this authoritative, engrossing history, John Steele Gordon captures as never before the true source of our nation's global influence: wealth and the capacity to create more of it.

In the years immediately after the Civil War, tens of thousands of former slaves deposited millions of dollars into the Freedman's Bank. African Americans envisioned this new bank as a launching pad for economic growth and self-determination. But only nine years after it opened, their trust was betrayed and the Freedman's Bank collapsed. Fully informed by new archival findings, historian Justene Hill Edwards unearths a major turning point in American history in this comprehensive account of the Freedman's Bank and its depositors

From Benjamin Franklin to Dave Ramsey, a lot of what “everyone knows” about money has changed dramatically over the past 250 years. In fact, much of the advice we take for granted today has not always been true, and strategies that we think are new have been tried—and failed—more than once. In some eras, parents taught their children not to save, and for many years, it was common knowledge that stocks were for suckers. Still, other so-called antiquated notions are not as outdated as we think.

Every day brings another gloomy economic statistic. Countries heading for bankruptcy; banks running out of money; production down; shop prices up: and no end seems to be in sight. Newspapers and TV news shows dwell on the troubled times and report on the inability of politicians to present a coherent way for Britain and the rest of Europe to pull out of a long and seemingly never-ending depression. Nothing seems to give employers the confidence to hire more people, pay them an inflation-proof wage rise and reverse a long decline in living standards.

By providing historical context and a thorough yet easily accessible explanation of US financial markets, authors Norbert Michel and Jennifer Schulp provide a much-needed counterpoint to current debates and criticisms. "Financing Opportunity" not only busts many popular myths about financial markets but also proposes ways to improve how our financial markets function. With financial markets and American opportunity so closely tied, financial policy is vital to supporting growth, productivity, and prosperity.

Behind every financial crisis lurks a "political bubble" - policy biases that foster market behaviors leading to financial instability. Rather than tilting against risky behavior, political bubbles - arising from a potent combination of beliefs, institutions, and interests - aid, abet, and amplify risk.