Richard Vague is a businessman, banker, and commentator on economics. He is the former Secretary of Banking and Securities for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. His previous books include The Case for a Debt Jubilee and The Paradox of Debt.

• IntroductionPART ONE: EMERGENCE1. "A life of care & anxiety" 2. "I propose to continue in business"3. "Perfidious and deserving of annihilation"4. "The melancholy state of the North American commerce"PART TWO: POLARIZATION5. "May we not... rely on your suspending your trade with Great Britain?"6. "Know ye, we despise you"7. "In wars the longest purse must chiefly determine the event"8. "Extremely unanimous, spirited, zealous and determined"PART THREE: REVOLUTION9. "The prospect of interest or some reward"10. "The proper time for America to make her bargain"11. "They will have blood for blood"12. "The opulent merchants of this city"13. "The loss of our independence is impossible"14. "A flagitious contempt of moral obligations"PART FOUR: COUNTERREVOLUTION15. "Vanity, luxury, drunkenness and debauchery"16. "The adventurous pursuits of commerce"17. "A pathless wilderness"18. "The great men are going to get all we have"PART FIVE: EXPLOSION19. "To make new loans on advantageous terms"20: "One continued scene of parties upon parties"21. "The temptations of momentary exigencies"22. "The rage of gambling in the stocks"23. "The deepest regret"24. "Such prominent marks of prosperity"25. "An immense quantity of land"26. "I can never do things small; I must either be a man or a mouse"27. "My domestic happiness has vanished"28. "We all tremble about the magnitude of the American account"29. "He could not articulate"30. "At that dread hour"Epilogue

"Richard Vague's 'The Banker Who Made America' rescues Willing from oblivion, declaring his subject 'the most powerful figure in early American history that you've likely never heard of.' … Mr. Vague, a former secretary of banking and securities for the state of Pennsylvania, writes with an expert's assurance on the financial history of the era. And he is admirably fair-minded in assessing both Willing's achievements and the grievances of his critics."The Wall Street Journal"Vague is especially good at explaining why the British demanded the notorious 'taxation without representation,' and why the colonists responded so furiously."Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker"The full-length biography of Willing that was missing from our shelves"National Review"Well researched and well written... After reading Vague's book, this reader is convinced that without Willing (and Morris), the war on independence may well have been lost and 'America' as we know it, may never have been made."Central Banking Journal"Impressive and engaging [...] an engrossing read"The Society of Professional Economists"An illuminating and original study of the life of one of early America's dominant financiers."American Heritage"With two hundred and fifty years of writing about the American Revolution behind us, what new insights could an author possibly bring to the table? Richard Vague has the answer: a whole heck of a lot! The Banker Who Made America brings an underappreciated American Founder to life through deep research in primary sources, keen historical insights, and engaging prose. You will love it." R. Scott Stephenson, PhD, President & Chief Executive Officer, Museum of the American Revolution "Thomas Willing's many interwoven careers – merchant trader, politician, peerless banker – contributed enormously to America's early history. But what makes Richard Vague's biography The Banker Who Made America: Thomas Willing and the Rise of the American Financial Aristocracy fascinating is his exploration of the many Revolutionary-era socio/economic/political struggles, in which Willing was deeply involved, and which foreshadow similar polarizing American divisions today." Pat Toomey, Former United States Senator "Richard Vague's absolutely engrossing biography of Thomas Willing tells the little-known story of the wealthy Philadelphia merchant banker, whose steady hand helped save the fledgling American republic from financial ruin – first by stabilizing confidence in its currency following the hyperinflation of the War of Independence, and then, as president of its first central bank, the Bank of the United States, by steering it through the speculative booms and busts of those first few years." Liaquat Ahamed, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Lords of Finance "Willing was present at the creation of so much of our country's core history yet hasn't been considered with the depth and clarity Vague brings to this compelling subject. I urge you to read this insightful narrative about how our country's Revolution was financed and our early Republic sustained." Chris Coons, United States Senator