1754-1783: Business and the Economy: Publications

William Barton, Observations on the Nature and Use of Paper Credit (Philadelphia: Printed by R. Aitken, 1781)—a Philadelphia lawyer urges the establishment of a national bank funded by specie. Barton believed that the scheme would allow Congress to pay its debts and thereby restore public confidence in the government;

Edmund Burke, Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies (New York: Printed by J. Rivington, 1775)—in his speech to Parliament a prominent political thinker and Whig spokesman outlines the astonishing economic growth of the American colonies and argues that British sovereignty and American liberty must be reconciled;

Michel Guillaume Jean (J. Hector St. John) de Crèvecoeur, “What is an American?,” in Letters from an American Farmer (London: Printed for Davies & Davis, 1782)—a French immigrant to New York reflects on how the country’s fertile land and plentiful resources produced a distinctly American character;

Benjamin Franklin, Advice to a Young Tradesman, Written by an Old One (Boston: Printed by B. Mecom, 1762)—one of several pieces by Franklin advising young men on how to be successful in business. These works were among the first examples of the “success manual” genre, which became extremely popular in the nineteenth century and into our own time;

Franklin, The Interest of Great Britain Considered, With Regard to Her Colonies (Boston: Printed by B. Mecom, 1760)—Franklin reassures the British that American manufactures will not soon replace the products imported from the mother country. Instead Great Britain and America will continue to grow together, with Britain maintaining its economic lead;

Richard Price, An Appeal to the Public on the Subject of the National Debt (London: T. Cadell, 1772)—a radical English Whig explains how Britain could retire its enormous public debt. Some Americans, including Alexander Hamilton, were fascinated by Price’s theories;

Pelatiah Webster, An Essay on Free Trade and Finance (Philadelphia: Printed and sold by Thomas Bradford, 1779)—in the face of crippling wartime inflation, a prominent financial theorist in Philadelphia analyzes the role of money in the economy.