In this Book
- The Power of the Purse: A History of American Public Finance, 1776-1790
- Book
- 2014
- Published by: The University of North Carolina Press
- Series: Published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Virginia
summary
In The Power of the Purse, E. James Ferguson examines the intricate financial history of the American Revolution and the Confederation and connects it to political and constitutional developments in the period. Whether states or Congress should pay the debts of the Revolution and collect the taxes was a pivotal question whose solution would largely determine the country's progress toward national union. Ultimately, says Ferguson, the Revolutionary debt fulfilled an important purpose as a "bond of union." Ferguson's masterful analysis, originally published in 1961, has become a classic among the literature on the American Revolution.
Table of Contents
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- List of Tables
- p. xi
- Introduction
- pp. xiii-xvi
- Part I: The Revolution
- 1. Currency Finance
- pp. 3-24
- 2. Square Dollars
- pp. 25-47
- 3. Return to the States
- pp. 48-56
- 4. Mass Expropriation
- pp. 57-69
- Part II: Nationalist Ascendancy, 1781-1783
- 6. Counterrevolution in Finance
- pp. 109-124
- 7. Reign of the Financier
- pp. 125-145
- 8. The Aristocracy Suppressed
- pp. 146-176
- Part III: Postwar Era
- 9. Settlement of Individual Accounts
- pp. 179-202
- 10. Settlement of State Accounts
- pp. 203-219
- 11. The Economics of Disunion
- pp. 220-250
- 12. Speculation in the Public Debt
- pp. 251-286
- Part IV: National Public Finance
- 13. Funding: The People and the Creditors
- pp. 289-305
- 14. Assumption: The Compromise of 1790
- pp. 306-325
- 15. The Threads Tied
- pp. 326-343
- Bibliographical Essay
- pp. 344-348
Additional Information
ISBN
9781469615790
Related ISBN(s)
9780807808047, 9780807839751, 9780807840283, 9798890876812
MARC Record
OCLC
933516394
Pages
376
Launched on MUSE
2016-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No