Hamilton's Blessing: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Our National Debt (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Over the past couple of decades, our national debt has become a favorite political football for Democrats and Republicans alike. Yet few Americans seem aware that the debt has a long and (mostly) honorable history. Alexander Hamilton considered it a kind of political Krazy Glue, which would also spur American industry by keeping taxes high. This borrowing power enabled the North to win the Civil War without wrecking its economy and rescued us from the Great Depression. John Steele Gordon doesn't deny the dangers of an entire nation living on credit; indeed, he believes that our fiscal affairs are a mess. But he puts this mess in fascinating perspective. And he's quick to see the human side of economic behavior: "One problem," he writes, "is that human nature predisposes us to recognize depression easily and quickly, but prosperity, like happiness, is most easily seen in retrospect." Bull's-eye! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In a colorful, sweeping narrative, American Heritage business columnist Gordon charts the history of our national debt, a mere $80 million in 1792, but now a staggering $5.1 trillion. Alexander Hamilton, first secretary of the treasury, conceived of a manageable federal debt as a strategic instrument of national policy, and indeed, deficit spending helped the North win the Civil War. President Andrew Jackson eliminated the national debt in 1834, but by shifting federal funds to state-chartered banks he fueled an upsurge in speculation and inflation, sparking the country's first major depression in 1837. Gordon deftly profiles a gallery of financial figures, including aluminum magnate Andrew Mellon (Harding's treasury secretary and the father of "trickle-down economics") and tough, tubercular Federal Reserve boss Benjamin Strong, whose ill-timed death triggered the 1929 crash. Gordon advocates a flat income tax, abolition of political action committees' financing of campaigns, and the creation of an independent accounting board to monitor federal spending. In exposing the underbelly of American political and economic history-our debt-ridden financial system-he has produced an enlightening primer for the layperson. History Book Club selection.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140270159
• ISBN-13: 978-0140270150
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #248,563 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Primer on the History of U.S. Fiscal Policy, June 24, 2002

By	Jeffery Steele (Taipei, Taiwan) - See all my reviews

Just two years ago, John Steele Gordon's book on the history of the U.S. federal debt would have seemed dated, even though it was published in 1997. After more than twenty consecutive years of operating in the red, the U.S. federal government had not only erased its annual deficits and began paying down the debt, but surpluses were projected over the next ten years.

This is no longer the case. A tax cut, the war on terrorism, and a slowdown in the economy have combined to push the U.S. government's outlays above its revenues. They have also made this book -- "Hamilton's Blessing" -- relevant again.

Gordon's book is two things: 1) a basic history describing the twists and turns of U.S. fiscal policy over the last two hundred-plus years and 2) a political tract condemning the latest turn U.S. fiscal policy has taken since the Great Society.

By combining the two, Gordon seeks to show that the most recent practice of U.S. fiscal policy -- that of habitually running deficits in peacetime -- is not only unprecedented in U.S. history, but also, more importantly, unsupported by any sound theory of economics.

"Hamilton's Blessing" is well-written and interesting. The book is only slightly marred by a lack of detail in some areas. How exactly does a large public debt hurt your average citizen and by how much? We never find out.

Gordon also should have kept his own political bent out of the book. Among other things, he spends three pages in a less than 200-page book detailing Jack Kemp's personal and political history, including his football career. All very interesting, but not really relevant to the history of the U.S. debt.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intersting Little Book on US Fiscal History, July 25, 2003

By	Wayne A. Smith (Wilmington, DE) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hamilton's Blessing: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Our National Debt (Hardcover)

John Steele Gordon is an excellent writer, one whom I have enjoyed very much in the pages of American Heritage and who wrote a nifty history of Wall Street called "The Great Game."

This book, "Hamilton's Blessing: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Our National Debt" is a good, if brief, overview of the fiscal history of the American government. It is somewhat misnamed, since the National Debt serves as a background and tie in to each period of fiscal history studied.

The author does a superb job of explaining Alexander Hamilton's establishment of our financial, banking, debt and money system. Here is a woefully under appreciated founder explained succinctly and whose brilliance and indispensability are brought forth by Gordon.

Descriptions of attitudes towards and major changes in financial policy and tools follow. Gordon covers the major aspects: the struggle over the Second National Bank, Jackson's paying off the debt (the only time the US Gov't has been debt free), Lincoln and Chase's tax, greenback and bond finance of the Civil War, the long fight to establish the income tax, the fight over high marginal rates and an efficient system of taxation, and the change in view in the last century from one that deficits and debt were something to be controlled to our current sorry state of view whereby no one worries about much about deficits anymore.

Debt, when properly used, has allowed us to primarily wage wars. It was retired in times of peace. We face an interesting time now, when debt as a percentage of GDP is much higher than it has been in most peacetimes. This raises the question that if we have to fight a truly massive and long war in the future, will we have the capacity to borrow what we need (based on historic statistics, it is a question well worth pondering).

Gordon finishes the book with a polemic against the political culture that has lost its way in terms of providing an efficient and fair and economically sound system of taxation and the willingness to moderate the nation's debt.

This is a good and interesting book. Anyone looking for a succinct telling of the development of our government's fiscal structure will appreciate this gem.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, brief history of a nation's national debt, April 27, 2006

By	T. Murphy "readitall" (Philly, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

John Steele Gordon has taken what could be an amazingly dull topic, limited in appeal, and translated it into a spectacular read for anyone with at least a basic education. This great little book is a welcome addition for folks interested in finance, the U.S. economy, and the national deficit. Nonetheless, despite its breezy style and short length (traits typically necessary for widespread appeal), I don't expect it will reach a wide audience. Consider yourself lucky that you've discovered this plain-language, excellent primer on how our national debt came to be!

The author's premise, like that of Alexander Hamilton, is that a national debt can be used constructively to monetize an economy. Both men were quite correct, and the debt served its purpose beautifully in supporting the fledging United States of America. It's subsequently been bastardized by numerous administrations, as a means of funding open-ended congressional and executive expenditures of middling value. Throughout the narrative of changes in the U.S. debt, the author details the creation and destruction of the National Bank of the United States. This institution flourished under Federalist rule, and languished or disappeared entirely when populist presidents (Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson) sat in office.

Overall, a remarkable book that will be discovered by too few, and certainly treasured by those lucky enough to discover it.