Financial
history
The magazine of the Museum of American Finance
in association with the Smithsonian Institution
Issue 136 • Fall 2021 ( 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
IN THIS ISSUE
7 Words of Wisdom
Remarks from the 2021 Museum of American Finance Gala . By Roger W . Ferguson , Jr ., Brian Moynihan and Richard Sylla
14 Seeking Virtue in Finance
Role models in the field of finance include Jack Bogle , John Whitehead and Alexander Hamilton , as well as many lesser-known names . By JC de Swaan
18 August Belmont , Jr .: The Forgotten Financier of the Gilded Age
Now largely forgotten , banker August Belmont , Jr . played a critical civil role , including building and financing the first NYC subway and the Cape Cod Canal . By John E . Morris
24 Jay Gould and the Union Pacific from the Panic of 1873 to 1880
Analyzing Gould ’ s skills as a corporate executive following his distressed investment in , and subsequent control of , the Union Pacific Railroad . By Joseph Calandro , Jr .
FEATURES
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 © 2021 by the Museum of American Finance , publisher . All rights reserved .
Financial History is the official membership magazine of the Museum of American Finance .
28 Developing the Interstate Highway System
The massive 40-year effort to finance and build the world ’ s largest public works project . By Michael A . Martorelli
32 The Battle Over the “ Midnight Oil ”
The competition for lighting fluid in the mid-19th century . By Daniel C . Munson
36 Where Are They Now ?
The Museum ’ s series on 207 of the underwriters of the 1956 Ford IPO continues with the history of First California Company , Inc . ( founded in San Francisco in 1945 ). By Susie J . Pak
2 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Winter 2021 | www . MoAF . org