Synopses & Reviews
Two and a half centuries after the American Revolution the United States stands as one of the greatest powers on earth and the undoubted leader of the western hemisphere. This stupendous evolution was far from a foregone conclusion at independence. The conquest of the North American continent required violence, suffering, and bloodshed. It also required the creation of a national government strong enough to go to war against, and acquire territory from, its North American rivals.
Inand#160;A Hercules in the Cradle, Max M. Edling argues that the federal governmentand#8217;s abilities to tax and to borrow money, developed in the early years of the republic, were critical to the young nationand#8217;s ability to wage war and expand its territory. He traces the growth of this capacity from the time of the founding to the aftermath of the Civil War, including the funding of the War of 1812 and the Mexican War. Edling maintains that the Founding Fathers clearly understood the connection between public finance and power: a well-managed public debt was a key part of every modern state. Creating a debt would always be a delicate and contentious matter in the American context, however, and statesmen of all persuasions tried to pay down the national debt in times of peace.and#160;A Hercules in the Cradleand#160;explores the origin and evolution of American public finance and shows how the nationand#8217;s rise to great-power status in the nineteenth century rested on its ability to go into debt.
Review
and#8220;I consider Edling one of the finest historians of the early American republic in the world today.
A Hercules in the Cradle will revolutionize the way historians think about the founding and development of the federal stateand#8212;a state with the capacity to fulfill the expanding new empire's and#8216;manifest destiny.and#8217;and#8221;and#160;
Review
and#8220;Edlingand#8217;s Hercules in the Cradle shows how vitally important fiscal policy has been in laying the groundwork for the modern state. Revisionist historians have long challenged the Cold War shibboleth that the national government in the early republic was nothing but a and#8216;midget institution in a giant land.and#8217; Edlingand#8217;s distinctive contribution is to bring this revisionist sensibility to the study of public finance. This lucid and informative monograph vaults Edling to the front ranks of historians of state and society in the nineteenth-century United States; it should remain a standard work in the field for many years to come.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Max Edling deploys his unrivaled mastery of fiscal policy to trace the transformation of the United States in less than a century from a loose confederation into a world power.and#160; He conclusively shows that the ability of American politicians to finance warfare and territorial expansion, despite widespread fear of the national government and long-term debt, was a major reason why the United States succeeded where other nations faltered.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;In his first book, Max Edling virtually forced American historians to rethink the first premises underlying the adoption of the Constitution. The Federalists of 1787-1788, he demonstrated, were true state-builders. In his new book, Edling traces what that state looked like, how it evolved, and how, notwithstanding all the constitutional controversies it provoked, it proved to be a far more effective vehicle for mobilizing national resources for war than most scholars have appreciated. Thanks to Edling, we now have a much more sophisticated basis for comparing the development of the American state after 1789 to its European counterparts.and#8221;
Review
andldquo;Edling examines in detail the financing of three wars: the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Civil War.and#160;. . . Exploring the origins and evolution of American public finance, this bookand#160;is well written and clearly argued. Highly recommended.andrdquo;
About the Author
Max M. Edling
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
and#160;
Introduction: War, Money, and American History
1.and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; A More Effectual Mode of Administration: The Constitution and the Origins of American Public Finance
2.and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Soul of Government: Creating an American Fiscal Regime
3.and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; So Immense a Power in the Affairs of War: The Restoration of Public Credit
4.and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Equal to the Severest Trials: Mr. Madisonand#8217;s War
5.and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Two Most Powerful Republics in the World: Mr. Polkand#8217;s War
6.and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; A Rank among the Very First of Military Powers: Mr. Lincolnand#8217;s War
Conclusion: The Ideology, Structure, and Significance of the First American Fiscal Regime
and#160;
Notes
Index