Joshua Greenberg on the Rage for Paper Money and Monetary Knowledge in Early America

Joshua Greenberg on the Rage for Paper Money and Monetary Knowledge in Early America

For many Americans, the question--What is a dollar worth?--may sound bizarre, if not redundant. Fluctuating international exchange rates, highly volatile crypto-currencies, counterfeit money, these are all things the average American hears about on the news, but rarely thinks about on a day-to-day basis. Even the most enthusiastic Bitcoin supporters will likely readily admit they prefer to conduct the majority of their daily transactions in a currency whose value is relatively stable, and backed by the government. And while fewer and fewer of those transactions take place using actual paper money, the fact is, the U.S. dollar remains the primary currency in which goods are quoted, traded, and payments settled across not only in the United States, but around the globe.

This was not the case two-hundred years ago when Americans were obliged to live and transact in a world filled with upwards of 10,000 unique bank notes tied to different banks of various trustworthiness. This number does not even include the plethora of counterfeit bills and countless shinplasters issued by un-regulated merchants, firms, and municipalities. In this month's episode, our guest, Joshua Greenberg explains the incredible amount of monetary knowledge required of Americans to participate in this highly volatile and chaotic market economy. An extensive monetary knowledge was necessary not just for financiers, merchants, and others operating at a high-level of economic activity, but also those who may never have had the occasion to step foot inside a bank themselves, but, nevertheless were compelled to constantly evaluate for themselves the value and authenticity of the paper money being handed to them or risk losing out.

Jaksot(125)

Seth Rockman on Slavery's Material History

Seth Rockman on Slavery's Material History

A simple leather shoe. A scratchy shirt made of cotton or wool. A roughly-hewn axe. A leather whip, braided in New Jersey. Southern slavery did not just depend on an extractive economic system, or a h...

2 Joulu 202452min

Andrew Kahrl on Inequality, Theft, and Taxation in Modern America

Andrew Kahrl on Inequality, Theft, and Taxation in Modern America

Taxes. Is there anything Americans like to complain about more? This episode takes a deep dive into the U.S. tax system, paying particular attention to the property tax. Exploding a popular myth that ...

5 Marras 202451min

Andrew McKevitt on Gun Capitalism

Andrew McKevitt on Gun Capitalism

450 million. According to our best estimates, that's how many guns there are in the United States. To put that in perspective: if you gave a firearm to every single person in the nation—including babi...

1 Loka 202448min

Rachel Gross on How the Outdoor Industry Sold Nature to America

Rachel Gross on How the Outdoor Industry Sold Nature to America

In 2022 and 2023, an estimated 50 million Americans went camping. Many others participated in outdoor recreation activities ranging from mountain-climbing to sailing. According to the U.S. Department ...

2 Syys 202441min

Margot Canaday on Queer Workers in Modern America

Margot Canaday on Queer Workers in Modern America

In today's episode, Margot Canaday reveals the not-so-hidden history of LGBT workers in modern America. In the absence of state protections, she finds, some employers actually appreciated queer worker...

1 Elo 202451min

Elizabeth Ingleson on the Past and Present of Made in China

Elizabeth Ingleson on the Past and Present of Made in China

Today, China is the U.S. third largest trading partner and second-largest source of imports. This wasn't always the case. Indeed, in the 1970s, when the United States first began trading with communi...

1 Heinä 202449min

Teresa Ghilarducci on the Past and Future of Retirement

Teresa Ghilarducci on the Past and Future of Retirement

When we study capitalism, we usually focus on the active time in people's lives: the moments where things like work, consumption, production, trade, accumulation, and exchange all happen. But Teresa G...

3 Kesä 202444min

Cheryl Narumi Naruse on Singapore, Postcolonial Capitalism, and Becoming Global Asia

Cheryl Narumi Naruse on Singapore, Postcolonial Capitalism, and Becoming Global Asia

In this month's episode, co-host Jessica Levy and guest Cheryl Narumi Naruse examine popular narratives surrounding Singapore's "miraculous" journey from Third to First world nation, currently ranked ...

5 Touko 202431min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
i-dont-like-mondays
sita
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
kaksi-aitia
uutiscast
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
joku-tietaa-jotain-2
kolme-kaannekohtaa
mamma-mia
aikalisa
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
rss-murhan-anatomia
rss-nikotellen
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-haudattu
naakkavalta