How does a man get the nickname the "financier?" How does he get credit for funding the American Revolution? These are the questions Ryan had about Robert Morris, a man known as the "Financier of the Revolution."

While learning about Robert Morris, Ryan learned about the American War of Independence and some events he had little knowledge of. Tune in as he discusses what he learned.

Sources:

Ben Baack, “Forging a Nation State: The Continental Congress and the Financing of the War of American Independence,” The Economic History Review 54, no. 4 (2001).

Jacob William Schuckers, A Brief Account of the Finances and Paper Money of the Revolutionary War (Philadelphia: J. Campbell & Son, 1874, 1874).

Farley Grubb, “State Redemption of the Continental Dollar, 1779–90,” The William and Mary Quarterly 69, no. 1 (2012).

Charles Rappleye, Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010).

Allan Potofsky, “The Political Economy of the French-American Debt Debate: The Ideological Uses of Atlantic Commerce, 1787 to 1800,” The William and Mary Quarterly 63, no. 3 (2006).

Ray Raphael, “The Financier: Robert Morris, America’s Original Bailout Czar,” Financial History (2009).

Elizabeth Miles Nuxoll, “Congress and the Munitions Merchants: The Secret Committee of Trade During the American Revolution, 1775-1777” (Ph.D., City University of New York, 1979).

Letters of Delegates to Congress, Smith, Paul H., et al., eds. Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774-1789. 25 volumes, Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1976-2000).

“Address to the Continental Congress, 16 June 1775,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-01-02-0001. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 1, 16 June 1775 – 15 September 1775, ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1985, pp. 1–3.]

For one month in 1907, America's financial industry stood on the brink of disaster. There were bank runs, and the New York Stock Exchange stood poised to collapse. The financial industry needed help. Luckily, help arrived in the form of John Pierpont Morgan. Ryan learned how J.P. Morgan saved the economy from collapse in 1907. Ryan also learned how the Panic of 1907 led to the creation of the Federal Reserve. Tune in as he discusses what he discovered about this fascinating topic. Sources: Ray Stannard Baker, “J. Pierpont Morgan,” McLure’s Magazine XVII, no. 6 (October 1901): 518. Robert F. Bruner, The Panic of 1907: Lessons Learned from the Market’s Perfect Storm, (Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons, 2007), xi-xii. Jon R. Moen, and Ellis W. Tallman, “Clearinghouse Membership and Deposit Contraction During the Panic of 1907,” The Journal of Economic History 60, no. 1 (2000): 150-51, Chernow, Ron. The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance . New York: Grove Press, 2010.

Why did a group of pacifists feel the ire of their fellow colonists during the American Revolution? What led people to dislike them? Why were the Quakers outsiders in the colonies they helped found?

Ryan aims to learn more as he discovers the Quakers and the American Revolution. Follow along as Ryan discusses what he learned about this fascinating man and his most significant failure.

Quick Editorial Note: Historian Arthur Scherr is accidentally referred to as Adam Scherr. Sorry about that! Too much John Adams on the brain.

Sources:Crotty, Joseph John. "Times of Peril": Quakers in British-Occupied New York During the American Revolution, 1775-1783." Quaker History 106, no. 2 (2017): 45-71. Fisher, Sydney G. The Quaker Colonies. Luton, Bedfordshire: Andrews UK Ltd., 2020.Fritz, James. "Gathering Storm Clouds: The Pacifist Culture of York County, Pennsylvania, During the American Revolution." Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage 37, no. 3 (2014).Hinds, Hilary. George Fox and Early Quaker Culture. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2011.Mekeel, Arthur J. "The Relation of the Quakers to the American Revolution." Quaker History 65, no. 1 (1976): 3-18. Myles, Anne G. "From Monster to Martyr: Re-Presenting Mary Dyer." Early American Literature 36, no. 1 (2001): 1-30. Scherr, Arthur. "John Adams Confronts Quakers and Baptists During the Revolution: A Paradox of the Quest for Liberty." Journal of Church and State 59, no. 2 (2017): 256-79. Thayer, Theodore. Israel Pemberton: King of the Quakers. Waipu: Pickle Partners Publishing, 2011.Weddle, Meredith Baldwin. Walking in the Way of Peace: Quaker Pacifism in the Seventeenth Century. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2001.Whidbee, Paige L. "The Quaker Exiles: The Cause of Every Inhabitant." Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies 83, no. 1 (2016): 28-57.

How does a man known as a successful banker, businessman, and "Financier of the Civil War" fail so badly that he gets accused of starting a global depression?Ryan aims to find out as he learns about Jay Cooke and his failed attempt to build the Northern Pacific Railroad. Follow along as Ryan discusses what he learned about this fascinating man and his most significant failure. Sources: C. Thomas, James A. Garland, and Court United States. District. In the Matter of Jay Cooke, William G. Moorhead, Harris C. Fahnestock, Henry D. Cooke, Pitt Cooke, George C. Thomas, James A. Garland, and Jay Cooke, Jr., Copartners, & Co., in Bankruptcy. Philadelphia: Allen Lane & Scott's Printing House, 1873.Foner, Eric. Reconstruction Updated Edition: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-18: HarperPerennial Publishers, 2014.Lubetkin, M. John. Jay Cooke's Gamble: The Northern Pacific Railroad, the Sioux, and the Panic of 1873. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press 2014.Munden, Christopher P. "Jay Cooke: Banks, Railroads, and the Panic of 1873." Pennsylvania Legacies 11, no. 1 (2011): 3-5.

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act is one of the most infamous pieces of legislation in American History. So what was it? Ryan sets out to learn about the act's origins, purpose, and most importantly, repercussions. Listen in as Ryan goes over everything he learned.

Hopefully you enjoy learning about Smoot-Hawley too!

Sources: Archibald, Robert B., and David H. Feldman. "Investment During the Great Depression: Uncertainty and the Role of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff." Southern Economic Journal 64, no. 4 (1998): 857-79. Irwin, Douglas A. Clashing over Commerce: A History of Us Trade Policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2017.Irwin, Douglas A. Peddling Protectionism: Smoot-Hawley and the Great Depression. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2017.Meltzer, Allan H. "Monetary and Other Explanations of the Start of the Great Depression." Journal of Monetary Economics 2, no. 4 (1976): 455-71. .Mitchener, Kris James, Kevin Hjortshøj O'Rourke, and Kirsten Wandschneider. "Smoot-Hawley Trade War." Article, Economic Journal 132, no. 647 (2022): 2500-33.

Did you know there was a series of violent clashes between West Virginia miners and the mining companies between 1912 and 1922? Ryan sure didn't before starting his research.

Ryan goes over all he learned about this wild time. Never did he imagine he'd be reading about actual battles, aerial combat, and a kindly old figure named Mother Jones. The West Virginia Mining Wars would make a perfect action movie. Hopefully, you enjoy the story as much as he did!

Sources:

Corbin, David.Life, Work, and Rebellion in the Coal Fields: The Southern West VirginiaMiners, 1880-1922 2nd ed. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Press, 2015.

Green, James. TheDevil Is Here in These Hills: West Virginia's Coal Miners and Their Battle forFreedom. New York, NY: Grove/Atlantic, Incorporated, 2015.

Savage, Lon.Thunder in the Mountains: The West Virginia Mine War, 1920-21. Pittsburgh, PA:University of Pittsburgh Press, 1990.

A short introduction on what you can expect from Here for History.