Financing the American Revolution: Robert Morris and Independence

You think you know the history of the American Revolution. George Washington crossing the Delaware. Thomas Jefferson writing the Declaration. But there’s one founder you’ve likely never heard of, and he was just as important.The war for independence started and ended on a financial note, and the man at the center of the money problem was someone most of us have never heard of: Robert Morris, the Financier of the American Revolution.Morris was a Liverpool-born merchant who moved to America at thirteen in 1747 and went on to become one of the most important leaders of the American Revolution. He understood shipping, credit, and global trade well enough to keep Washington’s army from collapsing.We trace the arc of the war to understand how a small group of colonies banded together to finance a rebellion against a world superpower. We cover colonial paper money, the fiscal tensions leading up to Lexington and Concord, how the Continental Congress tried to fund everything, and how they ultimately saved the war by handing extraordinary executive powers to Robert Morris.Chapters(05:35) The colonial economy: farming, a chronic trade deficit, and a chronic shortage of gold(08:15) Robert Morris: the Liverpool-born merchant who masters colonial trade(12:50) Money as a flashpoint: the Currency Acts and Morris’s own private currency experiment(17:38) From taxes to revolution: the Stamp Act, the Intolerable Acts, and Lexington and Concord(19:43) Funding a war with no power to tax: Congress invents the Continental Dollar(29:35) Christmas Supplies: Morris helps Washington cross the Delaware(34:02) “Not worth a Continental”: hyperinflation and the collapse of the printing era(44:17) Superintendent of Finance: a desperate Congress hands Morris near-total control(52:13) Yorktown: kegs of French silver and the financing behind the decisive victory(54:47) Newburgh and the Treaty of Paris: the army nearly turns and the war endsReferencesRobert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution by Charles Rappleye (Link)The Continental Dollar: How the American Revolution Was Financed with Paper Money by Fairley Grub (Link)Financial Founding Fathers: The Men Who Made America Rich by by Robert E. Wright and David J. Cowen (Link)Founding Finance: How Debt, Speculation, Foreclosures, Protests, and Crackdowns Made Us a Nation by William Hogeland (Link)One Nation Under Debt by Robert E. Wright (Link)The Power of the Purse by E. James Ferguson (Link)SponsorsBig thanks to EQT Corporation for helping us bring you the stories of market history and how they apply today. To join us in celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, go to https://www.eqt.com/community/america-250.Note: this show is for informational purposes only and isn’t investment advice. Backtest hosts and guests may have investments in the companies discussed. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.backtestpodcast.com