When the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, the black community owned less than one percent of the United States' total wealth. More than 150 years later, that number has barely budged. The Color of Money pursues the persistence of this racial wealth gap by focusing on the generators...

The elusive sovereign -- Paper money and the problem of circulation in the colonial era -- John Wise and the natural law of commerce -- William Douglass and the natural history of credit -- Commercial banking and the problem of representation in the Jacksonian era -- William Leggett and the...

The bankers' panic of 1907 -- The Emergency Currency Act -- Financial heterodoxy gains ground -- Central banking and agricultural credit -- From armistice to depression -- The 1930s banking crisis -- The Emergency Banking act -- The Banking Act of 1933 -- Government programs and mutual aid --...

Cover -- Half title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Dedication -- Preface -- Introduction. Politics and the Markets They Made -- Part I. Lawmakers and Regulators -- Chapter 1. Deregulation Before Deregulation: John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and James Saxon -- Chapter 2. Supermarket Banks:...