The First Wall Street: Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, and the Birth of American Finance

In his lively, absorbing look at the early history of America's financial markets, Wright (Origins of Commercial Banking in America, 1750-1800; Hamilton Unbound: Finance and the Creation of the American Republic) brings to life the financiers and their institutions with colorful prose that teases out the human drama beneath the ledgers and account books. Wright's approach is decidedly egalitarian: high-profile movers and shakers such as Michael Hilegas, Martin Van Buren and Nicholas Biddle are presented alongside the business owners, artisans and merchants who made less visible contributions to America's financial sector. Throughout the book, Wright reminds readers, with varying degrees of success, that while the rich have been the most obvious beneficiaries of America's financial markets, average citizens have benefited from property and casualty insurance, stocks and bonds, mortgages and the development of the U.S. treasury, perhaps more than the rich have. Both a history of the nation's first financial capital and a surprisingly understandable financial primer (""although the subjects discussed are over a century and a half old...a bond is still a bond,"" Wright notes), the book will appeal to readers interested in America's economic history and those wanting a better handle on banking and investing.