A Hercules in the Cradle : War, Money, and the American State, 1783-1867 / Max M. Edling.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Edling, Max M., Author.

Series:

American beginnings, 1500-1900.

American Beginnings, 1500-1900

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

War--Economic aspects--United States--History--18th century.

War.

War--Economic aspects--United States--History--19th century.

Finance, Public--United States--History--18th century.

Finance, Public.

United States--History, Military--To 1900--Economic aspects.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (331 p.)

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, [2014]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Two and a half centuries after the American Revolution the United States stands as one of the greatest powers on earth and the undoubted leader of the western hemisphere. This stupendous evolution was far from a foregone conclusion at independence. The conquest of the North American continent required violence, suffering, and bloodshed. It also required the creation of a national government strong enough to go to war against, and acquire territory from, its North American rivals. In A Hercules in the Cradle, Max M. Edling argues that the federal government's abilities to tax and to borrow money, developed in the early years of the republic, were critical to the young nation's ability to wage war and expand its territory. He traces the growth of this capacity from the time of the founding to the aftermath of the Civil War, including the funding of the War of 1812 and the Mexican War. Edling maintains that the Founding Fathers clearly understood the connection between public finance and power: a well-managed public debt was a key part of every modern state. Creating a debt would always be a delicate and contentious matter in the American context, however, and statesmen of all persuasions tried to pay down the national debt in times of peace. A Hercules in the Cradle explores the origin and evolution of American public finance and shows how the nation's rise to great-power status in the nineteenth century rested on its ability to go into debt.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: War, Money, and American History

Chapter one. A More Effectual Mode of Administration: The Constitution and the Origins of American Public Finance

Chapter two. The Soul of Government: Creating an American Fiscal Regime

Chapter three. So Immense a Power in the Affairs of War: The Restoration of Public Credit

Chapter four. Equal to the Severest Trials: Mr. Madison's War

Chapter five. The Two Most Powerful Republics in the World: Mr. Polk's War

Chapter six. A Rank among the Very First of Military Powers: Mr. Lincoln's War

Conclusion. The Ideology, Structure, and Significance of the First American Fiscal Regime

Notes

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9780226829364

0226829367

9780226181608

022618160X

OCLC:

894555003