From the Vault: Traveler’s checks and creative destruction
The first recognizable traveler’s check was issued in 1772. Why did they disappear?
Tag: History
The evolution of financial scams
What a century of fraud can teach banks about the next generation of risk.
The legacy of American banking
A lesser-known part of the story of the founding is the critical role that banks played in securing American independence.
Podcast: Financing America’s independence
To mark the 250th anniversary of Independence Day this week, John Steele Gordon explores the role of banking and finance ...
From the Vault: The first bank
With the onset of the American Revolution, the lack of a proper monetary system was no small part of the ...
From the Vault: The birth of savings banks
Savings banks had developed in Europe in the middle of the 18th century. In this country, the first two were ...
Podcast: The Erie Canal at 200
Economic historian John Steele Gordon and editor-in-chief Evan Sparks discuss how the Erie Canal was financed and built—and how it ...
How working-class New York savers — and a community bank — helped underwrite the Erie Canal
The Erie Canal, which opened the Midwest to mass settlement and transformed New York into America's commercial capital, turns 200.
From the Vault: Alexander Hamilton, banker
In a moment of chaos for a newly independent nation, a new bank backed by gold and silver notes was ...
From the Vault: The Wall Street banks and the Lusitania
Notes from an era where world events interrupted religious division.
