Adam Smith and the origins of American enterprise : how America's industrial success was forged by the timely ideas of a brilliant Scots economist / Roy C. Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Roy C., 1938-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Free enterprise.

History.

United States--Economic conditions--To 1865.

United States.

Economic conditions.

Free enterprise--United States--History.

Smith, Adam, 1723-1790.

Smith, Adam.

Physical Description:

xv, 224 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Truman Talley Books, St. Martin's Press, 2002.

Summary:

Adam Smith was a Scottish professor of moral philosophy. He published his classic "The Wealth of Nations in 1776, the year the American Revolution began. Smith became widely known for his ideas of free markets, laissez-faire commerce, and the "invisible hand." Yet English politicians, landed gentry, and the nobility paid little attention and enacted none of Smith's suggested reforms. The American colonies, however, began their existence as an independent nation in 1781 with no money, no industry, no banks, and deep in debt. The Founding Fathers-particularly Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin-turned to the ideas of Adam Smith to create and jump-start an economic system for America with both immediate and long-sustained results. This little-known but vital part of U.S. history is now revealed in Roy C. Smith's highly readable new book.

Contents:

1. Enlightenment and the New Economics 1

The British Economic System 24

The American Question 40

The Enlightenment Comes to America 51

2. Colonial Enterprise 54

Four Separate Economies 58

Economic Growth in the Colonies 73

Sociologies 79

Colonial Wealth 84

3. War and Independence 89

War and Transition 91

Creating a New Government 105

Implementing a Constitution 116

Early American Enterprise 125

4. Hardening the Template 135

American Economic Strategies 144

Four Pillars of Enterprise 150

Mid-Century Opulence 166

5. Nothing Like It in the World 175.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-218) and index.

ISBN:

0312285523

OCLC:

49926317