History of Money and Banking in the United States: From Colonial Era to World War II by Rothbard - Essay Example

The thesis of this book, which was to provide a look back into history and the various ways in which money and banking procedures have affected the nation, is not only proved but backed up in analysis and review. Events central to the United States, as well as world events and impacts that shaped the monetary system, are detailed and analyzed. Overall, the book is fascinating and shows a side of history often forgotten today.

This book is broken down into five comprehensive parts, each detailing major accomplishments in money and banking. Throughout, Rothbard does a wonderful job of merging detailed economic analysis and historical facts to explain the highlights of the time. From the first pages analyzing the creation of the money system in the United States to the skepticism of paper money and the global reworking of the gold standard in the 1920s, Rothbard spares no point of view of major politicians or historical events. Rothbard also details the first tenuous days of central banking, with excellent follow through to the times of the nation when banks were thought of as too powerful, to the international impact that the gold standard had on banks and the creation of the Federal Reserve.

Rothbard does a wonderful job of bringing history to life page by page. It is easy to forget that not all matters debated in Congress while the country was young involved individual freedoms, but how money and banking should be handled. He equally details Hamilton and his support for a central bank, as well as Andrew Jackson and his disdain for it. He expresses the details of the Great Depression and what it did to the economics of the country, including what led to it, and the attempts that were made for monetary recovery. At times, the decisions of major politicians seem to come to life, as their struggles and the ups and downs of the United States economy take their toll on monetary matters.

An area of bias in this book comes in tales of big-business families and how they attempted to make the financial system work in their favor. From the creation of the Federal Reserve to the establishment of the new gold standard, the role of influential families is detailed. Instead of simply stating history, though there is no doubt that the Morgans and Rockefellers played their part, Rothbard takes pains to describe the roles of those families and the influences they held. There can be no doubt what was negatively felt for those families and the way in which they manipulated the financial system to work in their favor. 

Another detractor is that the introduction is far too long. Introductions are meant to preface a book, and perhaps summarize one, yet Salerno has seen fit to add his own critique and analysis to it. Instead of just briefly introducing Rothbard, Salerno rambles on, displays quotes from other works and breaks down the book part by part, with summaries included. While a few pages were appropriate, he should have stopped there, allowing the book to speak for itself.

This book could also be improved by shortening some of it, namely the list of specifics in committees. In part five, for example, Rothbard lists all of the names of the Committee of the Nation and goes on for pages about the details of their meetings, including the different roles played by everyone. While it is true that this committee was playing a vital role in monetary matters, it was, in my opinion, not necessary to list such details. This information, except for a few names of key players, could have been kept out completely with no loss to the overall subject matter of the book.

Overall, I stand by my original statement. This book is a fascinating work of history, both in banking and money matters. Events that are glossed over or untouched in other history books are analyzed in detail.