Robert Morris, War Finance, and Early Bankruptcy Law in the U.S.

Robert Morris is one of the lesser-mentioned founding fathers of the U.S. When he is mentioned, he is called the financier of the Revolutionary War. But his story is more complicated than that.

Research:

• “18th Century Currency.” Valley Forge National Historical Park. National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?id=42877E64-155D-451F-67DACC05A2515349
• Bill of Rights Institute. “Stamp Act Resistance.” https://billofrightsinstitute.org/essays/stamp-act-resistance
• Currot, Nicholas A, and Tyler A. Watts. “WHAT CAUSED THE RECESSION OF 1797?” Studies in Applied Economics, No.48. February 2016. Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and Study of Business Enterprise. https://sites.krieger.jhu.edu/iae/files/2017/04/Curott_Watts_Recession_of_1797.pdf
• Dencklau, Jason. “Robert Morris.” George Washington’s Mount Vernon. https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/robert-morris
• The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Robert Morris". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Jan. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Morris-American-statesman
• The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Stamp Act". Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Dec. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/event/Stamp-Act-Great-Britain-1765
• The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Constitutional Convention". Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Jan. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/event/Constitutional-Convention
• Ferguson, E. James. “Business, Government, and Congressional Investigation in the Revolution.” The William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 16, no. 3, 1959, pp. 294–318. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1916947
• “Money in Colonial Times.” Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. https://www.philadelphiafed.org/education/money-in-colonial-times
• Rappleye, Charles. “Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution.” New York. Simon & Schuster. 2010.
• “Robert Morris.” American Battlefield Trust. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/robert-morris
• Rosenwald, Michael. “‘Grand inquisitors of the realm’: How Congress got its power to investigate and subpoena.” Washington Post. March 11, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/03/11/grand-inquisitors-realm-how-congress-got-its-power-investigate-subpoena/
• “The Stamp Act and the American colonies 1763-67.” UK parliament. https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/parliament-and-empire/parliament-and-the-american-colonies-before-1765/the-stamp-act-and-the-american-colonies-1763-67/#:~:text=The%20British%20needed%20to%20station,publications%20circulating%20in%20the%20colonies.
• “To George Washington from Robert Morris, 2 July 1781.” National Archives. Founders Online. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-06271
• “To George Washington from Robert Morris, 8 February 1790.” National Archives. Founders Online. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-05-02-0062
• “Stamp Act of 1765.” American Battlefield Trust. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/stamp-act-1765?ms=nav&ms=qr

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