Founding Choices: American Economic Policy in the 1790s

The political decisions made by the founding fathers were crucial to the success of the early republic. But the economic decisions they made were just as pivotal, ensuring the general welfare and common defense of the United States for decades to come. Founding Choices explores these economic choices and their profound influence on American life, westward expansion, and influence abroad. Among the topics covered are finance, trade, and monetary and banking policy, with a focus on the factors guiding those policies and their end result.

This book redresses the relative neglect of the economic achievements of the founders. It will be essential reading for historians and economists alike.

Douglas A. Irwin is the Robert E. Maxwell ’23 Professor of Arts and Sciences in the Department of Economics at Dartmouth College and a research associate of the NBER. Richard Sylla is the Henry Kaufmann Professor of the History of Financial Institutions and Markets and?professor of economics at New York University and a research associate of the NBER.