BOOK REVIEW then named as one of the state ’ s first two senators .

Asked by George Washington to be the first Secretary of the Treasury , Morris declined and suggested Alexander Hamilton .

The common reasons given for Morris ’ relative obscurity today are two-fold . First , his land speculations went bust in the Panic of 1796 , and he spent a few years in debtors ’ prison . That bitter coda to an otherwise phenomenal financial career might have otherwise been a colorful peccadillo .

But as a staunch Federalist , his fall from grace made him an easy mark for the Jeffersonians when they came to power .

The author makes the case that the conspiracy to write Morris out of history was much more malign and pervasive .

It was not , however , completely successful . As the author writes , “ Morris used his understanding of finance and human nature to put the administrative wheels in motion that eventually brought the sates together as a nation . There were many obstacles in his way , including prejudice , ignorance , secrecy ,

duplicity , misinformation , self-interest masquerading as virtue and narrow parochialism . In other words , the typical political conditions prevailed .”

Gregory DL Morris is an independent business journalist , principal of Enterprise & Industry Historic Research ( www . enterpriseandindustry . com ) and an active member of the Museum ’ s editorial board .

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT FINANCIAL HISTORY ?

1 . When was the Dow Jones Industrial Average established ?

2 . What Act — created in the wake of the Great Crash of 1929 — required that all investments sold to the public be registered with the government ?

3 . Whose thesis became the foundation for what is now called Modern Portfolio Theory ( MPT ) and earned him the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1990 ?

4 . What unlikely company ’ s $ 6 million pension fund funded the first index portfolio in 1971 ?

5 . What female investor played an important role in stemming the Panic of 1907 , alongside J . P . Morgan ?

6 . What term describes banks that are involved in securities activities ?

7 . What 2010 Act aimed to promote US financial stability by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system ?

8 . What President signed the Emergency Banking Act of 1933 ?

9 . What government corporation functioned as an infrastructure bank in the 1930s ?

10 . What President died on July 4 , 1826 , with over $ 100,000 in outstanding debt ?

1 . 1896 2 . The Securities Act of 1933 3 . Harry Markowitz 4 . Samsonite 5 . Hetty Green 6 . Universal banks 7 . Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 8 . Franklin D . Roosevelt 9 . Reconstruction Finance Corporation ( RFC ) 10 . Thomas Jefferson www . MoAF . org | Fall 2022 | FINANCIAL HISTORY 41