Bonds of War: How Civil War Financial Agents Sold the World on the Union

Bonds of War remind[s] us that the Civil War energized the nation's transformation from a modest and decentralized economic actor into the global juggernaut of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. . . . Impressive research . . . Thomson also offers a fascinating snapshot of the European trade in American bonds."-New York Review of Books

A fascinating foray into the world of Civil War finance and the beginnings of modern America's financial markets."-HistoryNet

Thomson weaves a compelling thread of the bonds representing a democratization of a war effort, in contrast to past wars being funded by financial elites."-Emerging Civil War

A carefully researched, well written, and deeply persuasive book. . . . By centering securities, Thomson reveals how Civil War debt played a crucial role in shaping the modern financial landscape."-H-CivWar

By providing a comprehensive and detailed look at how the United States raised enough money to finance a lengthy four-year military struggle, Thomson offers a much-needed perspective on the origins of modern finance as well as a case study of how military and political fortunes have intimate ties to financial riches."-Journal of American History