Robert Morris: The Financier and the Finances of the American Revolution, Vol. 1

by William Graham Sumner

Robert Morris' tombstone states that he was "The Financier"; officially, however, he was Superintendent of Finance. Whatever his title, Robert Morris played an integral role in financing the American Revolution, and Yale Professor William G. Sumner examines Morris' life and actions to enhance our understanding of the finances of the young nation. In Volume I of a two-volume work, Sumner looks at the early life of Morris and his first years in public service through 1781. Born in Philadelphia, Morris was forty-one at the time of the Revolution and one of the wealthiest merchants in the colonies. Sumner notes, "His career as a public man then began. He took part in all the great enterprises of the United States which were not military, and he was not without influence on those." He had to organize the treasury and somehow make sure that soldiers were paid, the army was provided for, and creditors were appeased. The volume ends with the events of 1781, with Morris appointed the Financier during a tense era in our nation's history. WILLIAM GRAHAM SUMNER was a professor of political and social science at Yale University and became known as a Social Darwinist and advocate of the laissez faire principle in economics. Besides writing a number of books on sociology, history, and economics, he was also influential in the movement to modernize the American university system.

320 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2000

About the author

William Graham Sumner (October 30, 1840 – April 12, 1910) was a classical liberal American social scientist. He taught social sciences at Yale, where he held the nation's first professorship in sociology. He was one of the most influential teachers at Yale or any other major school. Sumner wrote widely within the social sciences, with numerous books and essays on American history, economic history, political theory, sociology, and anthropology. He supported laissez-faire economics, free markets, and the gold standard. He adopted the term "ethnocentrism" to identify the roots of imperialism, which he strongly opposed. He was a spokesman against imperialism and in favor of the "forgotten man" of the middle class, a term he coined. He had a long-term influence on conservatism in the United States.

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to love volume 1 but it is a very thorough walk through of the historical record of finances in the colonial/revolutionary era. Hard to really grasp some concepts of “sinking” currency and of relative specie value across intersecting economies for a modern reader but it’s not totally indecipherable. The truth is that if you want to read about Robert morris, this is by far the oldest and most complete pre-modern biography.