IN THIS ISSUE
FEATURES
The magazine of the Museum of American Finance
in association with the Smithsonian Institution
Issue 143 • Fall 2022 ( ISSN 1520-4723 )
Kristin Aguilera Editor
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Howard A . Baker , Esq . Howard Baker Associates Lawrence A . Cunningham The George Washington University Peter C . Earle American Institute for Economic Research 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 © 2022 by the Museum of American Finance , publisher . All rights reserved .
Financial History is the official membership magazine of the Museum of American Finance .
11 The Story of Hetty Green
America ’ s first value investor and financial grandmaster .
▶ By Mark Higgins
16 The Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Could the RFC of the 1930s be a model for a federal infrastructure bank ?
▶ By Michael A . Martorelli
20 ETFs and the Origin of Indexing
The pioneers who shaped index funds and changed how the world invests .
▶ By Bob Pisani
24 The Entrepreneurs : Ancient Partners of Power
Entrepreneurs have been shaping the world we live in since the earliest civilizations .
▶ By Derek Lidow
28 Applying Hamilton ’ s Mint Report to American Finance and Commerce
When Congress considered Alexander Hamilton ’ s “ Report on the Establishment of a Mint ” and enacted the Coinage Act of 1792 , important elements from the Report were excluded .
▶ By Eric Brothers
32 Glass-Steagall and the Restoration of Financial Stability
Banks became major players in US securities markets twice in the past century , and both times helped to promote unsustainable credit booms that led to devastating busts .
▶ By Arthur E . Wilmarth , Jr .
36 Politics and Free Trade
Examining the Walker Tariff of 1846 .
▶ By Ramon Vasconcellos
2 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Fall 2022 | www . MoAF . org