A Monetary History Of The United States, 1867-1960 May 2026

The authors argued that the Depression was not a "market failure" but a "government failure." They blamed the Federal Reserve for allowing the money supply to shrink by one-third between 1929 and 1933.

The book contends that had the Fed maintained a steady money supply, the severe contraction could have been avoided or significantly mitigated. Key Historical Episodes Analyzed The book covers several distinct monetary eras: A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960

The inflationary impact of wartime financing and the eventual revival of independent monetary policy in the 1950s. Intellectual Legacy The authors argued that the Depression was not

The book's most famous section, Chapter 7 (often published separately as The Great Contraction ), reinterpreted the Great Depression. A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960

The transition from private clearinghouses to a centralized monetary authority.