Listen free for 30 days

Preview
  • Underwriters of the United States

  • How Insurance Shaped the American Founding
  • Written by: Hannah Farber
  • Narrated by: Linda Jones
  • Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Underwriters of the United States

Written by: Hannah Farber
Narrated by: Linda Jones
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.30

Buy Now for $26.30

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

Unassuming but formidable, American maritime insurers used their position at the pinnacle of global trade to shape the new nation. The international information they gathered and the capital they generated enabled them to play central roles in state building and economic development. During the Revolution, they helped the U.S. negotiate foreign loans, sell state debts, and establish a single national bank. Afterward, they increased their influence by lending money to the federal government and to its citizens. Even as federal and state governments began to encroach on their domain, maritime insurers adapted, preserving their autonomy and authority through extensive involvement in the formation of commercial law. Leveraging their claims to unmatched expertise, they operated free from government interference while simultaneously embedding themselves into the nation's institutional fabric. By the early nineteenth century, insurers were no longer just risk assessors. They were nation builders and market makers.

Deeply and imaginatively researched, Underwriters of the United States uses marine insurers to reveal a startlingly original story of risk, money, and power in the founding era.

©2021 The Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture (P)2024 Tantor
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Underwriters of the United States

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.