Portrait of a Citizen: Stephen Girard, Mariner, Merchant, Banker, and Philanthropist of the Early American Republic

The émigré merchant Stephen Girard of Philadelphia (1750–1831) embodied many of the values associated with the revolutionary American republic he chose to call home. After haphazardly arriving in Philadelphia in 1776, the Frenchman benefited mightily from the economic opportunities of his volatile era. As he entered maturity, the merchant-banker found meaning through civic leadership and his famous last will and testament, in which he codified his approach to national progress through civic...