Greenback; The Almighty Dollar and the Invention of America
New York, N.Y. Henry Holt and Company, 2003. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. [14], 321, [1] pages Illustrations. Footnotes. Note from previous owner on front free endpaper. Ink notation on page facing half-title page, adding the title of one of the author's books in ink. Includes Introduction: American Dream, Bibliography, Acknowledgments, and Index. Also includes chapters on A Promise to Pay; The Treasure Hunter; The Garden; The Antiquarians; The Sage; The Monarchist; The Dollar Sign; The American System of Jacob Perkins; A Philadelphia Story; Uneasy Money; Killing the Bank; The Spy; The Counterfeiters; The Great Conspiracy; and Working for the Yankee Dollar. Jason Goodwin (born 1964) is an English writer and historian. The author looks at the dollar over the years as a form of art, a kind of advertising, a reflection of American attitudes, and a builder of empires. He shows us how the dollar rolled out the frontier and peopled the plains; how it erected the great cities; how it expressed the urges of democracy and opportunity. Above all, he introduces us to the people who championed--or ambushed--the dollar over the years: presidents and statesmen, artists and engravers, pioneers and frontiersmen, bankers shady and upright, safe-blowers and crooks, and dreamers of every stripe. From the author of Lords of the Horizons, the fascinating story of a new kind of money for a new world. Money has always been at the heart of the American experience. Paper money, invented in Boston in 1698, was a classic of American ingenuity-and American disregard for authority and tradition. With the wry and admiring eye of a modern Tocqueville, Jason Goodwin has written a biography of the dollar, giving us the story of its astonishing career through the wilds of American history. Greenback looks at the dollar over the years as a form of art, a kind of advertising, a reflection of American attitudes, and a builder of empires. Goodwin shows us how the dollar rolled out the frontier and peopled the Plains; how it erected the great cities; how it expressed the urges of democracy and opportunity. And, above all, Goodwin introduces us to the people who championed-or ambushed-the dollar over the years: presidents, artists, pioneers, and frontiersmen; bankers, shady and upright; safecrackers, crooks, and dreamers of every stripe. It's a vast and colorful cast of characters, who all agreed on one thing: getting the money right was the key to unlocking liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Greenback delves into folklore and the development of printing, investigates wildcats and counterfeiters, explains why a buck is a buck and how Dixie got its name. Like Goodwin's Lords of the Horizons, another story of empire, Greenback brings together an array of quirky detail and surprising-often hilarious-anecdote to tell the story of America through its best-beloved product. Derived from a Kirkus review: British popular historian Goodwin explains how the Yankee dollar replaced Spanish pieces of eight as the world’s most powerful money. One third of the value of American currency remains offshore, greasing the ways of lawful and illicit international commerce. Here’s the story of the birth and adolescence of a much-beloved, venerated medium of exchange. Starting with wampum, Goodwin describes the continental currency praised by Cotton Mather and delineates the financial scandals that roiled the country before Washington ($1) took the CEO’s office. Jefferson ($2) sponsored the decimal system, and Hamilton ($10) promoted the notion of a national bank. Simoleons bore images of landscapes, railroads, factories, farms, Native Americans, and goddesses. The farther they wandered from home, the more bank notes were discounted. Myriad issues fostered counterfeiting, despite the warning legend that “To Counterfeit Is Death.” (Artistic forgers duly reproduced the dire words.) President Jackson ($20) lost his temper, dueled with the Bank of the United States, and killed it. Paper money was frequently so valueless it could be used as a “shinplaster” to bandage a scraped leg. The Roman X on the ten reminded carpenters of the sawbuck used to prop up their work. The nation’s Great Seal found its way on the greenback with its enigmatic, all-seeing eye, but nobody is sure why. The dollar symbol’s origin is ultimately obscure, Goodwin concludes. He supplies interesting tales of copper- and steel-plate engravers, nice asides, and neat character sketches (most entertaining, some unnecessary for American readers). Here are yesteryear’s gold bugs, silverites, and bimetallists. Finally, William Jennings Bryan appears with his popular “Cross of Gold” oration. With no reference to the Susan B. Anthony coin or Boggs, the artist who literally draws his own pay, the text is more about monetary history than current design, production, or usage. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: Dollar, Banknotes, Currency, Counterfeit, Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson, Paper Money, Jacob Perkins
ISBN: 0805064079
[Book #81689]
Price: $45.00