- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226910260
- eISBN:
- 9780226910291
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226910291.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
This chapter concludes with a discussion of the role that the dethroned Chestnut Street played in the economic development of the Delaware Valley in the decades leading to the Civil War. Unlike other ...
More
This chapter concludes with a discussion of the role that the dethroned Chestnut Street played in the economic development of the Delaware Valley in the decades leading to the Civil War. Unlike other commercial “has-beens,” however, Philadelphia thrived rather than shriveled. It did so by industrializing, by transforming itself from an American London into “the Manchester of America.” One moving force behind that profound transition was Chestnut Street, which remained the center of Philadelphia's financial district as well as its most “fashionable” street, and whose hotels, such as the Girard House, still attracted Europe's well-heeled tourists. Its rows of mature trees, fancy shops, and handsome buildings still drew Philadelphia's finest for their daily “promenade.” Most importantly for our story here, Chestnut Street's financial institutions still attracted both buyers and sellers of IOUs. Despite its demise as the nation's financial leader, Chestnut Street still existed, and was large and smart enough to finance good projects.Less
This chapter concludes with a discussion of the role that the dethroned Chestnut Street played in the economic development of the Delaware Valley in the decades leading to the Civil War. Unlike other commercial “has-beens,” however, Philadelphia thrived rather than shriveled. It did so by industrializing, by transforming itself from an American London into “the Manchester of America.” One moving force behind that profound transition was Chestnut Street, which remained the center of Philadelphia's financial district as well as its most “fashionable” street, and whose hotels, such as the Girard House, still attracted Europe's well-heeled tourists. Its rows of mature trees, fancy shops, and handsome buildings still drew Philadelphia's finest for their daily “promenade.” Most importantly for our story here, Chestnut Street's financial institutions still attracted both buyers and sellers of IOUs. Despite its demise as the nation's financial leader, Chestnut Street still existed, and was large and smart enough to finance good projects.
Robert E. Wright
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226910260
- eISBN:
- 9780226910291
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226910291.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
When Americans think of investment and finance, they think of Wall Street—though this was not always the case. During the dawn of the Republic, Philadelphia was the center of American finance. The ...
More
When Americans think of investment and finance, they think of Wall Street—though this was not always the case. During the dawn of the Republic, Philadelphia was the center of American finance. The first stock exchange in the nation was founded there in 1790, and around it the bustling thoroughfare known as Chestnut Street was home to the nation's most powerful financial institutions. This book recounts the history of Chestnut Street and its forgotten role in the birth of American finance. Philadelphia, known for its cultivation of liberty and freedom, blossomed into a financial epicenter during the nation's colonial period. The continent's most prodigious minds and talented financiers flocked to Philly in droves, and by the eve of the Revolution, the Quaker City was the most financially sophisticated region in North America. This book reveals how the city played a leading role in the financing of the American Revolution and emerged from that titanic struggle with not just the wealth it forged in the crucible of war, but an invaluable amount of human capital as well. This capital helped make Philadelphia home to the Bank of the United States, the U.S. Mint, an active securities exchange, and several banks and insurance companies—all clustered in or around Chestnut Street. But as the decades passed, financial institutions were lured to New York, and by the late 1820s only the powerful Second Bank of the United States upheld Philadelphia's financial stature. But when Andrew Jackson vetoed its charter, he sealed the fate of Chestnut Street forever.Less
When Americans think of investment and finance, they think of Wall Street—though this was not always the case. During the dawn of the Republic, Philadelphia was the center of American finance. The first stock exchange in the nation was founded there in 1790, and around it the bustling thoroughfare known as Chestnut Street was home to the nation's most powerful financial institutions. This book recounts the history of Chestnut Street and its forgotten role in the birth of American finance. Philadelphia, known for its cultivation of liberty and freedom, blossomed into a financial epicenter during the nation's colonial period. The continent's most prodigious minds and talented financiers flocked to Philly in droves, and by the eve of the Revolution, the Quaker City was the most financially sophisticated region in North America. This book reveals how the city played a leading role in the financing of the American Revolution and emerged from that titanic struggle with not just the wealth it forged in the crucible of war, but an invaluable amount of human capital as well. This capital helped make Philadelphia home to the Bank of the United States, the U.S. Mint, an active securities exchange, and several banks and insurance companies—all clustered in or around Chestnut Street. But as the decades passed, financial institutions were lured to New York, and by the late 1820s only the powerful Second Bank of the United States upheld Philadelphia's financial stature. But when Andrew Jackson vetoed its charter, he sealed the fate of Chestnut Street forever.
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226910260
- eISBN:
- 9780226910291
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226910291.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
This chapter shows that the lifeblood of Chestnut Street's financiers also ebbed away, by exploring in detail the life and death of one of Philadelphia's finest financiers: Michael Hillegas. The ...
More
This chapter shows that the lifeblood of Chestnut Street's financiers also ebbed away, by exploring in detail the life and death of one of Philadelphia's finest financiers: Michael Hillegas. The death of men such as Hillegas decreased Chestnut Street's initial advantage in human capital. He was not Philadelphia's most important financial innovator by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, Hillegas was just one of many important Philly financiers. The passing of a financier such as Hillegas marked a diminution of Philadelphia's human capital base and a step closer to the ascendance of Wall Street. During the Revolutionary War, Hillegas invested in at least one successful “Adventure to France” and repeatedly asked to be included to the tune of £400 or £500 in other ventures. He also continued to sell his musical wares when he could, a trade he seems to have practiced until his death, but it appears he concentrated his wartime business concerns in manufacturing and land speculation. Undoubtedly influenced by his ironware trade and his association with Stiegel, Hillegas joined the iron manufacturing business in early 1774.Less
This chapter shows that the lifeblood of Chestnut Street's financiers also ebbed away, by exploring in detail the life and death of one of Philadelphia's finest financiers: Michael Hillegas. The death of men such as Hillegas decreased Chestnut Street's initial advantage in human capital. He was not Philadelphia's most important financial innovator by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, Hillegas was just one of many important Philly financiers. The passing of a financier such as Hillegas marked a diminution of Philadelphia's human capital base and a step closer to the ascendance of Wall Street. During the Revolutionary War, Hillegas invested in at least one successful “Adventure to France” and repeatedly asked to be included to the tune of £400 or £500 in other ventures. He also continued to sell his musical wares when he could, a trade he seems to have practiced until his death, but it appears he concentrated his wartime business concerns in manufacturing and land speculation. Undoubtedly influenced by his ironware trade and his association with Stiegel, Hillegas joined the iron manufacturing business in early 1774.
