Harry White and the American Creed: How a Federal Bureaucrat Created the Modern Global Economy (and Failed to Get the Credit)
The life of a major figure in twentieth‑century economic history whose impact has long been clouded by dubious allegations
 
“Harry Dexter White has always been the mystery man at the center of America’s international economic policy in the 1930s and 1940s. James Boughton helps demystify him in this rich, enlightening, and most interesting volume.”—Douglas Irwin, author of Clashing over Commerce: A History of U.S. Trade Policy
 
Although Harry Dexter White (1892–1948) was arguably the most important U.S. government economist of the twentieth century, he is remembered more for having been accused of being a Soviet agent. During the Second World War, he became chief advisor on international financial policy to Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, a role that would take him to Bretton Woods, where he would make a lasting impact on the architecture of postwar international finance. However, charges of espionage, followed by his dramatic testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee and death from a heart attack a few days later, obscured his importance in setting the terms for the modern global economy. In this book, James Boughton rehabilitates White, delving into his life and work and returning him to a central role as the architect of the world’s financial system.
1139169346
Harry White and the American Creed: How a Federal Bureaucrat Created the Modern Global Economy (and Failed to Get the Credit)
The life of a major figure in twentieth‑century economic history whose impact has long been clouded by dubious allegations
 
“Harry Dexter White has always been the mystery man at the center of America’s international economic policy in the 1930s and 1940s. James Boughton helps demystify him in this rich, enlightening, and most interesting volume.”—Douglas Irwin, author of Clashing over Commerce: A History of U.S. Trade Policy
 
Although Harry Dexter White (1892–1948) was arguably the most important U.S. government economist of the twentieth century, he is remembered more for having been accused of being a Soviet agent. During the Second World War, he became chief advisor on international financial policy to Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, a role that would take him to Bretton Woods, where he would make a lasting impact on the architecture of postwar international finance. However, charges of espionage, followed by his dramatic testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee and death from a heart attack a few days later, obscured his importance in setting the terms for the modern global economy. In this book, James Boughton rehabilitates White, delving into his life and work and returning him to a central role as the architect of the world’s financial system.
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Harry White and the American Creed: How a Federal Bureaucrat Created the Modern Global Economy (and Failed to Get the Credit)

Harry White and the American Creed: How a Federal Bureaucrat Created the Modern Global Economy (and Failed to Get the Credit)

by James M. Boughton
Harry White and the American Creed: How a Federal Bureaucrat Created the Modern Global Economy (and Failed to Get the Credit)

Harry White and the American Creed: How a Federal Bureaucrat Created the Modern Global Economy (and Failed to Get the Credit)

by James M. Boughton

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Overview

The life of a major figure in twentieth‑century economic history whose impact has long been clouded by dubious allegations
 
“Harry Dexter White has always been the mystery man at the center of America’s international economic policy in the 1930s and 1940s. James Boughton helps demystify him in this rich, enlightening, and most interesting volume.”—Douglas Irwin, author of Clashing over Commerce: A History of U.S. Trade Policy
 
Although Harry Dexter White (1892–1948) was arguably the most important U.S. government economist of the twentieth century, he is remembered more for having been accused of being a Soviet agent. During the Second World War, he became chief advisor on international financial policy to Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, a role that would take him to Bretton Woods, where he would make a lasting impact on the architecture of postwar international finance. However, charges of espionage, followed by his dramatic testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee and death from a heart attack a few days later, obscured his importance in setting the terms for the modern global economy. In this book, James Boughton rehabilitates White, delving into his life and work and returning him to a central role as the architect of the world’s financial system.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780300253795
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication date: 11/30/2021
Pages: 464
Product dimensions: 6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

James M. Boughton is a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. He was previously historian of the International Monetary Fund, as well as assistant director in the Strategy, Policy, and Review Department at the IMF.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Prologue: The Missing Legacy 1

Part I Becoming Harry Dexter White

1 Who-Really-Was Harry White? 7

2 The Education of Harry White 19

3 A Brief Academic Career 33

Part II Becoming a Keynesian Internationalist

4 What Next? Dr. White Goes to Washington 43

5 Settling into Morgenthau's Treasury, 1934-36 51

6 Rising into a Position of Influence, 1936-38 64

Part III Wartime Finance

7 Preparing for War, 1937-41 89

8 The Treasury Goes to War, 1941-43 120

Part IV Creating the Postwar Global Economy

9 Planning for a Stable Postwar Recovery, 1941-42 141

10 Negotiating with Keynes, 1942-43 154

11 The Path to Bretton Woods, 1943-44 174

12 The Bretton Woods Conference, 1944 193

Part V Preparing for Peace and Prosperity

13 Finishing the Job, 1944-45 215

14 Dangerous Diversions, 1944-46 233

15 The Attack Begins behind the Curtain, 1945 259

16 At the International Monetary Fund, 1946-47 274

17 Freelance Consultant, 1947-48 292

Part VI Death and Defamation

18 Dealing with the Red Scare, 1947-48 309

19 Afterlife: The Attack Continues, 1948-54 323

20 Second Afterlife: The Attack Resumes, 1955 to the Present 348

Epilogue: The Legacy Redux 371

Notes 381

Bibliography 427

Index 441

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