Charting Twentieth-Century Monetary Policy: Herbert Hoover and Benjamin Strong, 1917-1927

by Silvano A. Wueschner

Overview

Herbert Hoover, as Secretary of Commerce, and Benjamin Strong, as Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, played a critical role in the formulation of American monetary policy during the 1920s. Yet little attention has been given to the relationship between them—at first cooperative, then increasingly one of conflict and factionalism—or to the impact of that relationship on policy formulation. This book sheds new light on their roles in policy making and relates those roles to larger conflicts over where policy should be made, how the Federal Reserve System should be structured, and the balance that should be struck between international, national, and regional considerations.

Focusing on the Hoover-Strong relationship from a political rather than a purely economic perspective, the book's scope includes both domestic and international aspects of Federal Reserve policy formulation. New sources have enabled the author to provide both fresh details and a broader interpretation. Elaborating on the belief that the Depression resulted from policies developed during the autumn of 1927, the author contends that the foundation for those policies was laid with America's decision to underwrite the Dawes plan, the decision to underwrite England's returban to the gold standard, and the involvement in European monetary stabilization—all issues over which Hoover and Strong disagreed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313309786
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/30/1999
Series:	Contributions in Economics and Economic History , #210
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.62(d)
Lexile:	1790L (what's this?)

About the Author

SILVANO A. WUESCHNER is Assistant Professor of History at William Penn College.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Ellis W. Hawley
Introduction
The Emergence of Factions: Differing Views on the Roles for the Federal Reserve System
The Clash of Factions, 1921-1924
Foreign Developments: The Move to Stabilize
The Elusive Demon: Speculation
Stabilization: From Wall Street to Congress
Easy Money
Conclusion
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

With the Federal Reserve System currently getting accolades for sustained economic growth, Wueschner (history, William Penn College) provides context for its institutional evolution. Countering views of the 1920s as an insignificant period for the monetary system begun in 1913, the author regards this as a seminal decade in the struggles over the role of the "Fed." He highlights the collaboration between Secretary of Commerce Hoover and Strong, Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Appends a glossary of individuals who contributed to that era's monetary policy. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

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