The magazine of the Museum of American Finance

in association with the Smithsonian Institution

Issue 135 • Fall 2020 ( ISSN 1520-4723 )

Kristin Aguilera Editor

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Howard A . Baker , Esq . Howard Baker Associates Lawrence A . Cunningham The George Washington University Brian Grinder Eastern Washington University Gregory DL Morris Freelance Journalist Susie Pak St . John ’ s University Arthur W . Samansky The Samansky Group Myles Thompson Columbia Business School Publishing Janice Traflet Bucknell University Robert E . Wright American Institute for Economic Research Jason Zweig The Wall Street Journal

ART DIRECTION Alan Barnett Design

MUSEUM STAFF David J . Cowen , President / CEO Kristin Aguilera , Deputy Director Robert Dinkelmann , IT / Technology Maura Ferguson , Director of Exhibits Sarah Poole , Collections Manager

Linda Rapacki , Managing Director of Visitor Services and Operations

Mindy Ross , Director , External Relations Ben Urizar , Assistant Director of Visitor Services

Copyright © 2020 by the Museum of American Finance , publisher , 25 Broadway , 5th Floor , New York , NY 10004 . All rights reserved .

Financial History is the official membership magazine of the Museum of American Finance .

12 The Money Hackers : How Venmo Became a Verb

Venmo founders Iqram Magdon-Ismail and Andrew Kortina disrupted the world of finance and altered how we think and talk about money . By Daniel P . Simon

18 The Socialist Orphanage

History ’ s lessons and the debates over socialism . By Daniel C . Munson

22 Free ( Business ) People of Color

Antebellum black business owners in New Orleans and Charleston . By Ramon Vasconcellos

28 JPMorgan ’ s Transformation

The past , present and future of America ’ s largest financial institution . By Nicholas P . Sargen

32 Federal Land Grants in the 19th Century

US government officials made meaningful quantities of free land available to hasten the country ’ s economic development . By Michael A . Martorelli

36 White Shoe : New High Priests for a New Century

A new breed of high-powered corporate lawyer emerged in New York City in the late 19th century . By John Oller

41 Where Are They Now ?

The Museum ’ s series on 207 of the underwriters of the 1956 Ford IPO continues with the history of Howard , Weil , Labouisse , Friedrichs & Co . ( founded in New Orleans in 1950 ). By Susie J . Pak

Library of Congress

2 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Fall 2020 | www . MoAF . org