An Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power

Well written book about American economic history.

I purchased "Empire of Wealth" to address the glaring deficit in my knowledge of American history from an economic perspective. At the same time, I was dreading that this history would be boring and dry. It is anything but. Gordon's effort is downright gripping, a compelling read chock full of information. Gordon has a knack for finding the most intriguing aspects of history and explaining difficult concepts in a manner that is quickly grasped. He is able to get to the heart of a concept without dragging along pedantic baggage. His writing is flawless and the raw historical material is seamlessly synthesized with consummate professionalism. Gordon wraps his discussion of larger economic themes around the impact that invention, infrastructural development, and politics had on the burgeoning American economy. Examples include the Erie Canal, road and railroad building, the cotton gin, or the bessemer furnace. From an "ideological" perspective, Gordon falls into the typical free-market, pro-deficit camp, which is consistent with the vast majority of economists today. However, he is far from dogmatic or simplistic, as some reviewers maintain. He acknowledges that unregulated capitalism is "red in tooth and claw" but that labor unions have overstepped their bounds, for example. Gordon devotes much time to the monopolies, oligopolies and collusion of post- Civil War America. At the same time, he fairly points out that not all political attempts to defang raw capitalism were the panaceas so keenly hoped-for. A nice feature of Gordon's approach is his recognition of less-appreciated historical actors. For example, he gives the much-derided Hoover some credit for helping make possible the New Deal, insofar in that he tried every means possible short of big-government alphabet-soup to stem the growing depression. FDR would not have been able to introduce his heavy-handed methods, Gordon contends, without voter experience with Hoover's more gradualist and ultimately ineffective policies. The author narrates far too much in "Empire of Wealth" to describe here in detail, but particularly stellar is Gordon's discussion of money supply, deficits, trade balances, the role of a national bank, Northern vs. Southern economies, income tax, the history and role of Wall Street and the pernicious boom-and-bust cycle engendered by Jeffersonian opposition to Hamilton's central bank. "Empire of Wealth" surpassed all of my expectations. Gordon's effort is a surprisingly enjoyable and very necessary history that will not disappoint.

There are many theories as to why the United States rose to economic dominance in the world. To some, this result was inevitable, but that success was achieved in spite of some major setbacks. Gordon describes the history of the United States in economic terms, and from many of the events, we can see much about what has been done well and that which was done poorly. From these events, we can also find some guidance concerning how things should be done in the future. There were three major economic crises in the first two hundred years. The first was the aftermath of the revolution for independence. Since most of the colonial trade was with England and many of the wealthy were opposed to freedom from England, there was a major economic downturn after the war ended. Many types of currency were in circulation and the new country was an economic basket case. Fortunately for the future of the country, there was a person who knew how to solve the problem and had the stature to carry it out. That man was Alexander Hamilton and his program of establishing and funding a national debt was a resounding success. In 1789 the United States government was financially insolvent, yet five years later it had the highest credit rating in Europe. Hamilton also established a central bank, which served as a financial anchor for the nation as long as it existed. Gordon gives Hamilton his due credit for this, noting some of the opposition by other founding fathers who couldn't fathom it and what it has meant for the country since then. The second major crisis was much more long term, namely the abolition of the central bank by Andrew Jackson. His actions led to the deepest and lengthiest economic depression that the country has ever seen. The early years of the 1830's were a boom time, all government debt had been retired and there was a revenue surplus. His executive order in 1837 requiring land be paid for in gold and silver led to a banking collapse, interest rates skyrocketed and in less than a year, 90 percent of the nation's factories were closed. The bottom of this depression was not reached until six years after Jackson's order. As Gordon points out, the lack of a central bank was a problem that continued to fester until the Federal Reserve System was established in 1913. Even then it was not up to the task and it was the depression of the 1930's that led to the changes that molded it into the form we know today. It can be argued that the greatest single mistake ever made by an American president was Andrew Jackson's destruction of the central bank. The third major crisis was the great depression of the 1930's. What made it so much more devastating than the depression of the 1830's were the different demographics of the country. In 1930, a much larger percentage of the people worked in factories and fewer could rely on subsistence agriculture to survive. It was also a time when there were political alternatives that seemed more effective. Fascism appeared

If you think economic history has to be dull, you will be surprised by An Empire of Wealth. In it, financial journalist John Steele Gordon (who writes for, among other things, American Heritage) provides a sweeping, popular history of the U.S. economy from colonial times to the present. Much of what he discusses is inherently exciting -- such as the story of how steam railroads were developed -- but even when the subject would strike most people as dry (banking, money supply, etc.) Gordon makes it come alive. Many people seem to have a problem with this book because it is so celebratory of the USA's wealth. But Gordon here demonstrates an important point: everyone (rich and poor alike) has benefited from the ability of capitalists to increase the size of the pie. Poor Americans of today are much better off than they would be if, instead of encouraging growth, the country had focused its efforts on a totally fair distribution of its wealth as it existed in, say, 1900 or 1920 or 1950. If you disagree with that, or don't understand it, then it is all the more important that you read this book. Even if you don't come around to Gordon's way of thinking, you will at least acquire the beginnings of a solid factual basis for your counterarguments. One more point: Since the book was written for the "average reader," it's unfortunate that the bibliography is simply an alphabetical list of works consulted. I wish Gordon had instead provided an annotated bibliography, organized by topic, with his suggestions of what books are most useful. (Lawrence Friedman's History of American Law (1986) does this well, for example.)

This has got to be one of the best history books that I have read. The book chronicles the start of the United States and the inovations and trials that made the nation great. I particularly enjoyed how it intertwined the innovations with information on the thoughts of politicians, businesmen, and others of the era, and how events such as slavery impacted the economics of the time. This was a very well written book. I initially picked it up from the library, and then purchased a copy to add to my library.

Forests have been cleared for all the books that have been written on American History. While a few stand out from the pack, it is harder to find one that is fresh, interesting, and informative. "An Empire of Wealth" is all of those things and I strongly recommend it to you. Instead of being a military, political, or diplomatic history, John Steel Gordon has written an economic biography of our country. Do not mistake this approach for a dry treatise on economics. Far from it, this book is full of struggle, wild success, bitter failure, dislocation from wrenching changes in the economy due to the rise of new technologies, and marshalling resources for war. He begins with the resource rich, but hostile wilderness that the early explorers found. The British made the first permanent settlement at Jamestown in what is now Virginia. The settlers had come for gold, found mica that they mistook for gold ore, and only 38 of the 105 survived the first winter. They kept coming from England and they kept struggling until they began to grow and export tobacco. Mr. Gordon then takes us on a fast paced, and amazing journey through the nation's founding, the movement west, our major wars, depressions, and the rise (and fall) of technologies such as steam, the railroads, machine supported agriculture, banking, and international trade. He ends the book with the horrible events we experienced on September 11, 2001. Not only is this a fun read for anyone interested in American History, it would be a fine addition to the history readings for high school or college students. I especially like the author's honesty about the good and the bad in our history without making us the bad guys or the source of all pain and suffering on the planet. The reader comes away with a richer understanding of our history and feels good about our place in the world. The book has a particularly nice bibliography in addition to the chapter notes. The readings offered in the bibliography would enrich anyone and I also urge you to look at them and read as many as you can. There is also an index to help you find certain topics. (I am a big fan of indexes and cannot understand any modern book without one - given how easily computers can create them and allow the editor to work them into something useful. Yet, we still get books without indexes because people think they will be more popular. What I want is useful!)