In "The Founder's Fortunes," Willard Sterne Randall delves into the lesser-known aspects of America's Founding Fathers, exploring their financial lives and the impact of their wealth on the formation of the nation. With meticulous research and captivating storytelling, Randall brings to light the complex interplay of money, power, and politics during the birth of the United States.

Randall sheds new light on familiar figures such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, offering a fresh perspective on their lives and legacies. He also introduces lesser-known characters who played pivotal roles in shaping the country's economic landscape.

"The Founder's Fortunes" is not only a fascinating exploration of the financial lives of these historic figures but also a timely examination of how wealth and influence continue to shape the course of history. Engaging and thought-provoking, this book is a must-read for history buffs and those interested in the origins of American wealth and power.

I did not finished at 60 pages in. While it was very informative, I also found it kind of dry and just not what I thought it was going to be.

I found this book to be well written and informative. By framing the American Revolution in the context of its economic impact on some of the main figures, brought a fresh and interesting perspective to a subject that has countless times written about it. I especially like the information related to how much the revolution seemed to be funded by smuggling, privateering and downright piracy. When peoples incomes and livelihoods are threatened they will do anything and this book shows that can even lead to a revolution like none seen before

It's always interesting to follow the money when it comes to historical events. This is a basic economic history of the United States before and during the Revolutionary War. It goes in depth about some of the main historical figures--George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton. Randall, however, didn't seem to draw any conclusions, and it ended rather abruptly.

<i>Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group for an arc for an unbiased review.</i>

John Adams once wrote “The Subjects of Coin and Commerce, are the most nice, and intricate of any within the compass of political Knowledge, and I am very apprehensive We Shall Suffer Some Inconveniences, from our Inexperience, in this Business. However, In Circumstances like ours, We should expect and be prepared in our Minds to suffer Inconveniences in every Particular Department of our Affairs: We must try Experiments-and if one fails, try another, untill We get right.” Willard Stearne Randall documents these experiments, failures and limited successes in his book The Founders’ Fortunes: How Money Shaped the Birth of America.

Founders’ Fortunes begins with an overview of how the key Founders like Benjamin Franklin and George Washington built their reputations and fortunes. Those two in particular came from modest upbringings but through their skills, ambition and some fortunate circumstances became prosperous and renowned in the Colonies prior to the Revolutionary War. As tensions grow and the Massachusetts Bay colony takes center stage in the war, Randall introduces John Adams, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock and describes their role in supporting the political uprising in Boston. He carefully explains the financial incentives all of the Founders had for going to war with Great Britain.

Once the war begins, Founders’ Fortunes provides a comprehensive overview of the economic woes of the United Colonies and the Founders’ personal fortunes. Randall digs deep into the Continental Congress’s efforts to establish a monetary system for the Colonies and the mistakes they make along the way. This is where Founders’ Fortunes really shines. For this reader, Randall sheds new light on the complex financial issues that came with funding the war out of thin air and who profited and lost in the process. His analysis continues through the post-war depression years as younger Founders like Alexander Hamilton advocated for and developed the monetary policy of the United States.

Founders’ Fortunes is a smart read for Revolutionary War and U.S. history buffs and economic policy wonks. Some might quibble with some of the dates Randall uses in the book, but since this review is based on an advanced review copy provided through NetGalley, it is difficult to tell what details were cleaned up in the editing process.

This book gives a detailed chronicle of a number of the founding fathers of the United States through the lens of their finances. It also details the funding of the Revolutionary War efforts and the founding of the US Financial system. I had recently read a novelization of Andrew Hamilton’s life, who was the first Treasury Secretary. This book expanded my knowledge of some of what was brought up in that novel.
For American history buffs, this would be an interesting read.
I received a complementary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley,

This well-researched book is more than just an overview of the finances of America's founders. As we learn the details of how (and why) they made their fortunes, we also learn a lot about their personal lives and the times they lived in. After all, you can't separate the amassing of a fortune from the reasons that fortune was sought after in the first place.

The writing style isn't sleep-inducing academic dusty fact-dumping, thank goodness. I love history, and enjoy learning about famous figures, but I can't abide dry, lifeless writing. This book is a comfortably pleasant read in that respect. I'll probably read it twice through, as there's a lot of interesting information presented and I'd like to soak up as much of it as possible.

Spoiler alert - Benjamin Franklin is, and probably always will be, one of the most interesting men in history!

My thanks to author Willard Sterne Randall, PENGUIN GROUP Dutton, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.

While I appreciate the depth Mr. Randall goes into with this work, it reads too much like this: Poor white guy becomes rich white guy and then does anything and everything to stay a rich white guy. Owning people is totally on the table. I understand that this is supposed to be an eye opener for most readers, but I understood it. I didn’t think that was what this book was going to be. I guess I should have known.

THE FOUNDERS' FORTUNES: HOW MONEY SHAPED THE BIRTH OF AMERICA.
BY: WILLARD STERNE RANDALL

This was an epic sized account of early America written by Willard Sterne Randall who has written whole books about some of the Founding Fathers that are included in this historical work. I would like to try reading some of his previous work that concentrates on a particular historical person and then re-read this after I have done so.

This didn't really work for me as there is too many historical people discussed and the well known ones were easy to interpret their contributions. There were other's that I hadn't heard of before and the Author overwhelmed me at times with not giving enough depth to those unknown to me.

Sure, I think that this may appeal to some, but it felt like at times it read like an encyclopedia of historical details and dates.

I love history and I am well versed on the lives of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, King George II & III of England and what their roles were in history. I enjoyed the aspects of what led up to the Revolutionary war which I am also well educated on that period as I have the good fortune of living about forty-five minutes from the historic sites in and around Boston. I learned about that period of history in Elementary School.

It was impressive to me how Willard Sterne Randall inserted how much money things that cost when he was referencing them during the 1700's to what the amount it would translate to cost today. I will buy this since it is already published and read it again after I read some of his other books that focus primarily as biographies of one historical person that he has devoted a whole book to. Perhaps, this one will be more enjoyable and I will come back and update my review. It is worthy of reading other peoples reviews if you are considering reading this. Three Stars for now in my humble opinion.

Publication Date: February 8th, 2022. Available now to buy!

Thank you to Net Galley, Willard Sterne Randall and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton-Dutton for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheFoundersFortunes #WillardSterneRandall #PenguinGroupDuttonDutton #NetGalley

History is made when many different factors come together to shape human experiences and communities. The economics of the early American nation to the present has heavily influenced the existing financial relationship between the government and the people.

I was looking forward to this book because I haven't ever seen an analysis of the Founding Fathers' wealth and how it impacted the origins of the US. Unfortunately, this book didn't quite go where I wanted it to.

Randall does do a good job of noting the land, stock, and debt of many of the best known founders of the country. He also takes special care to include the numbers of slaves they own at various points across decades, as well as noting the number of enslaved people per colony. He mentions that the investments of the five richest men at the first continental congress are greater than those of the other 45 men combined. However, he does not draw direct conclusions. He doesn't have an argument. He only lists various people's (especially Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson) at several points in their lives.

I was hoping for a direct analysis of the wealth of the founders and their influence. Is there as much of a connection as I think there is? Definitely in some cases, but Randall doesn't even try to draw lines of connection.

Randall is a renowned biographer of the Founding Fathers ,and this book is at its best when giving biographical detail to put everything in context of the times and the costs involved. He is assiduous in translating the value of the currency mentioned into today's dollars, which is great. He really does bring the colonial world to life on the page.

However, he generally aggregates all Native peoples into "Indians," without noting whether that is due to poor source material or his own failure to check into tribal history of the conflicts in question. (I am more familiar with Native histories of the southwest and pacnw areas of the US and Canada; I don't know what history is available of the east coast tribes, but I tend to think there must be something.)

Also, Randall states, "Never before had artillery been brought to bear in the American interior," which is demonstrably incorrect. Artillery was crucial to the Spanish conquest of (what became) New Spain between the late 1490s and early 15-teens -- about 290 years before the history Randall is recounting. Call it a quibble, okay, but "America" did exist beyond the English colonies.

I was interested to learn that Thomas Jefferson drafted numerous abolitions of slavery, which all failed, *without divesting of his own slaves*, and decades later wrote of how he grieved the damage done to the western hemisphere by the institution of slavery. While still owning slaves. Such hypocrisy, dear god.

I also learned that the first national bankruptcy bailout was of land speculators. Because real estate bailouts are a thing, I guess.

Anyway, I got some of what I wanted from this book -- a good look at the financial context of the American Revolution, wartime, post-war, and post-Constitution periods, during which there was a devastating economic depression. Someone needs to write the book that ties all of that together with the power of the plutocracy/oligarchy disguising itself as "democracy" in the early history of the country. And if this exists, already, please please link me!

This was a great and educational read about the founding father's and how the United States currency and mint came to be. It was well researched and I like that the author had both positive and negatives POV when sharing the history of our country. Will definitely get this when it is published and look for other books written by this author.

Recommended for anyone who likes US History or history in general.

Thanks to Netgalley, Willard Sterne Randall and Penguin Group Dutton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 2/8/22

A great in-depth book about the founding fathers fortunes. I love nonfiction historical books and this one is no exception. This book gives a lot of great information about the men that built this country. I would highly recommend this one.

This book was received as an ARC from PENGUIN GROUP Dutton in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was really anticipating reading this book since this has been a popular controversial topic since the pandemic and I have been hearing and reading many conspiracy theories regarding the U.S. Financial system and the truth about the Constitution and this book was really interesting and informative. Willard Sterne Randall did a great job highlighting the signature events that made an impact to the story making it clear of the initial purpose our Founding Fathers intended for the U.S. Financial System. This book went back to the roots when the country was founded and I think readers will have different perspectives for interpreting the message William Sterne Randall did they will definitely be keeping minds turning.

We will consider adding this title to our History collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.