CARL LANE is professor of history at Felician College in New Jersey. He received his Ph.D. in history from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His articles have appeared in The William and Mary Quarterly, The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, and other publications. His article, "The Elimination of the National Debt in 1835 and the Meaning of Jacksonian Democracy," in Essays in Economic and Business History won that journal's James Soltow Award. He and his wife live in Montclair, New Jersey.
Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Historian Lane delivers a superbly written exploration of a narrow
subject in the fading past, making it feel surprisingly relevant to
modern readers. Paying off the national debt, a topic that's at the
center of passionate debate today, similarly roiled the political
scene 175 years ago. Lane describes how, under vastly different
conditions, Andrew Jackson and his administration vowed to
completely eliminate the national debt by 1835. They succeeded, but
in the process were forced to bow to ideology and political
pressure, killing the Second Bank of the U.S. and unwisely
distributing surplus federal funds to state banks rather than using
the money for infrastructure development. The result, according to
the author, was the crash of 1837--America's first great financial
crisis. Lane brings life to the dry topics of debt, tariffs, taxes,
and banks, and he's not above calling participants to account when
he thinks criticism is warranted. His only error is holding figures
of the past to today's standards. Otherwise, this is first-rate
history rendered with unusual clarity and verve. "A Nation Wholly
Free is Mr. Lane's fascinating exploration of what led to the brief
interlude of 1835-37, the only time in its existence when the
United States had no debt. . . . For Andrew Jackson and many other
early Americans, debt was not just a fiscal danger, but a path to
corruption and national decline."--The Wall Street Journal"An
engaging treatment of a topic of perennial concern and frequent
misunderstanding, this lucid tale of the brief moment when the
United States was debt-free should be on every Congress member's
bedside table."--Peter J.Woolley, Professor of Comparative
Politics, Fairleigh Dickinson University
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
