America's first central banker was a reluctant revolutionary
Thomas Willing was a merchant trader, America’s first bank president, and its first central banker. Willing bankrolled – and in the process helped save – the American Revolution and then fundamentally shaped the financial architecture of the young Republic. Yet at a decisive moment in Willing's life he voted against independence, as a clash between Pennsylvania's moneyed elite and the emergent lower and middle classes embroiled the politics of 1776 in bitter class conflict. Guest: Richard Vague, author of “The Banker Who Made America: Thomas Willing and the Rise of the American Financial Aristocracy, 1731-1821”, published by Polity Producer: Catherine Zengerer
Late Night Live - Separate stories podcast · Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (mediacore-live-production.akamaized.net) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
Thomas Willing was a merchant trader, America’s first bank president, and its first central banker. Willing bankrolled – and in the process helped save – the American Revolution and then fundamentally shaped the financial architecture of the young Republic. Yet at a decisive moment in Willing's life he voted against independence, as a clash between Pennsylvania's moneyed elite and the emergent lower and middle classes embroiled the politics of 1776 in bitter class conflict.
- Guest: Richard Vague, author of “The Banker Who Made America: Thomas Willing and the Rise of the American Financial Aristocracy, 1731-1821”, published by Polity
- Producer: Catherine Zengerer