A History of Banking in Antebellum America

• 1. Introduction: historical setting and three views of banking; 2. Financial development and economic growth in Antebellum America; 3. Financing entrepreneurship: banks, merchants and manufacturers; 4. The integration of short-term capital markets in Antebellum America; 5. Banks, brokers, and capital mobility; 6. Conclusion: how banks mattered.

'In A History of Banking in Antebellum America Howard Bodenhorn provides an excellent analysis of the nature of banking and short-term credit markets before the Civil War, detailing the contributions of these financial institutions to the economic development in the northern and southern regions of the United States. This significant treatment of the role of banks in economic growth represents an important shift of focus from discussions dealing primarily with bank panics and financial instability, and it will be of interest to all economists and historians concerned with the relation between bank finance and economic change.' Stanley Engerman, University of Rochester