One Nation Under Debt: Hamilton, Jefferson, and the History of What We Owe by Robert E. Wright
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(Hardcover)
- Pub. Date: February 2008
- 256pp
- Sales Rank: 308,378
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: February 2008
- Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies, The
- Format: Hardcover, 256pp
- Sales Rank: 308,378
- ISBN-13: 9780071543934
- ISBN: 0071543937
- Edition Number: 1
Synopsis
The Untold History of America's First Debt and its Relevance in Today's Economy
“Wright tackles the thorny question of what makes countries wealthy through the lens of a U.S. addiction: government indebtedness.”
-Simon Constable, TheStreet.com
“Think that our burgeoning national debt is something new? We've been down this road before. One Nation Under Debt traces the roots of today's looming fiscal crisis back to the birth of the republic and shows how the founding fathers averted financial Armageddon.”
-William Bernstein
“This is economic history both high and low-from Alexander Hamilton, the wizard who put America's finances in order, to the men and women who secured America's future by buying its bonds.”
-Richard Brookhiser
“This book is magnetic. Wright regales us with the bankers and merchants, slaveholders and bondholders, and pen-named politicians of the Early Republic.”
-James W. Mueller, Ph.D., Chief Historian, Independence National Historical Park
"If I could write like Wright, I would be thrilled. Some passages in the book are stunning—almost poetic. For anyone interested in the evolution of the U.S. economy and its early financial system, the first six chapters of this book are essential. Wright makes his point: under skilled management (e.g., Hamilton), debt is good for deepening capital markets, but incurred excessively to finance wars or inappropriate government expenditures, it can eventually prove disastrous."
-Richard Vietor, Harvard Business School, Journal of American History
Biography
Robert E. Wright is the Rudy and Marlyn Nef Family Chair of Political Economy in the Division of Social Sciences at Augustana College and is a curator for the Museum of American Finance. He is the author of scores of articles, entries, reviews, and chapters, and has authored or coauthored nine books. Wright has written for Barron's, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Forbes.com, and other prominent publications, and has appeared on NPR, C-SPAN, and the BBC.
Customer Reviews
One Nation Under Debt: Hamilton, Jefferson, and the History of What We Oweby Anonymous
Reader Rating:
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March 11, 2008: This book is not only informative, it is a great read. Who would have thought that somebody could write a page turner about the national debt? The author clearly loves this topic and his enthusiasm shows through on every page. America's national debt is currently over $9 trillion dollars. It began its life almost as deeply in debt (fewer dollars but each dollar could buy a lot more back then and the economy was smaller) as it is today. Yet, it managed to pay its debt off without causing too many disruptions to the economic or political systems. But the early politicians were more statesmen, not vote mongers like today, so we are not likely to pay our current debt off. I also like how the author says that both Hamilton and Jefferson were right about the debt. Hamilton said it was a blessing and it was, short term, a point the author proves with a ton of data and interesting stories about bondholders and sugar beet farmers. Jefferson said the debt was a curse and ultimately was proven correct.
One Nation Under Debt: Hamilton, Jefferson, and the History of What We Oweby Anonymous
Reader Rating:
See Detailed Ratings
March 10, 2008: This book is not only informative, it is a great read. Who would have thought that somebody could write a page turner about the national debt??? The author clearly loves this topic and his enthusiasm shows through on every page. America's national debt is currently over $9 trillion dollars. It began its life almost as deeply in debt 'fewer dollars but each dollar could buy a lot more back then and the economy was smaller' as it is today. Yet, it managed to pay its debt off without causing too many disruptions to the economic or political systems. But the early politicians were more statesmen, not vote mongers like today, so we are not likely to pay our current debt off. I also like how the author says that both Hamilton and Jefferson were right about the debt. Hamilton said it was a blessing and it was, short term, a point the author proves with a ton of data and interesting stories about bondholders and sugar beet farmers. Jefferson said the debt was a curse and ultimately was proven correct.
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