Author of seven books on Wall Street history, the national debt, the Atlantic Cable, etc. Columnist for Barron's, freaquent op-ed writer for WSJ
For those just joining us, Mr. Gordon is one of the nation's best authors on Wall Street history and the economic growth of the United States. His works include
An Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power
Hamilton's Blessing: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Our National Debt
The Great Game: The Emergence of Wall Street as a World Power
A Thread Across the Ocean: The Heroic Story of the Transatlantic Cable
and coming out in February, Washington's Monument: And the Fascinating History of the Obelisk
How did the nation finance the war of 1812 in the absence of the national bank? How serious was the risk of default in 1814 (it is often mentioned as an imminent risk in the fall of that year)?
I wanted to say that I loved your book in the history of the transatlantic cable. Really awesome stuff.
Why is the American dollar called 'dollar'? Where does it come from? Were there other sorts of money considered?
it seems as if the basic image of wall street is that of almost cartoonish, scrooge mcduck style, cutthroat capitalists detached from the "everyman", i'm curious, has there ever been a time when this was vastly different, and it was seen as, i dunno, a shining example of succes, the american dream, anything of the sort that wouldn't be 'big bad business'?
Thanks for joining us today!
How did the United States and Confederate States fund the Civil War? After the war, how much debt did the United States carry, and was it a significant problem for the country?
Hello Mr.Gordan
In your opinion, do you accept the monetarist's position on the Great Depression, which is to say that the depression was caused by contracting monetary supply coupled with the unwillingness of the fed to counteract. And that the end of the depression had more to do with going off the gold standard rather than Keynesian fiscal policy?
At what point did American wealth begin to outpace European wealth? Or in other words, when did the wealthiest 1% of Americans become so much wealthier than the 1% elsewhere?
During your research, did you look into any of the post-Bretton Woods alternative proposals from the 1970's and 1980's? They were often discussed in finance classes like the Monetary and Exchange Rate Policies for International Financial Stability by McKinnon and the OCA papers, and I was wondering what your thoughts on those might be. Do you think we could operate with more multinational macro organization?
I think that's it. Many thanks. I enjoyed it and I hope you all did too.
What was the difference between funding American efforts in WW1 and WW2 (or any following conflict for that matter - i.e. Vietnam)? Would it be mostly war bonds? If not, what? Or just how did funding wars change over time is what I'm interested in...
Who is the most fascinating figure in early wall street history to you?
If you've been following the events in Greece lately, is there any kind of parallel in American history, perhaps in the era of wildcat banks?
How would you see the role of Wall Street and financial markets of the United States in the global economy of the future? Will the same historical developments and practices that raised Wall Street into the leading financial center of the world serve to maintain this position in the future?
During the US 1800s railroad boom, did any rail companies issue bonds that had specialized redemption terms other than being redeemable for dollars, gold or silver? In particular, were any such bonds redeemable for miles of passenger or freight transport?
I realize this question is enough to reduce some economists to fisticuffs, but... Where do you stand on the effectiveness of the New Deal as regards American recovery in the 1930s? Was World War II necessary to propel the US to the economic heights it obtained, or was the New Deal alone enough to see full economic Recovery?
How much debt remains from the Vietnam war? When will it be possibly paid off?