Event details
The Founders’ Fortunes: Money and the Birth of America
In 1776, upon the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers concluded America’s most consequential document with a curious note, pledging “our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” Lives and honor did indeed hang in the balance, yet just what were their fortunes? How much did the Founders stand to gain or lose through independence? And what lingering consequences did their respective financial stakes have on liberty, justice, and the fate of the fledgling United States of America?
In this lecture, Historian Willard Sterne Randall *84 will discuss his new book, The Founders’ Fortunes: How Money Shaped the Birth of America (Dutton, 2022) which uncovers how our country’s founders waged war, crafted a constitution, and forged a new nation influenced in part by their own financial interest.
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