Jumping the Abyss: Marriner S. Eccles and the New Deal, 1933-1940 | naked capitalism - 0 views
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Bill Fulkerson on 15 Sep 18"This work presents the first compressive and independent analysis of the contributions of one of the most important public officials in American history. As a graduate student more than a decade ago, I began to investigate the role that Marriner S. Eccles played during the 1930s, as both a special assistant to the secretary of the Treasury and as the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. I was intrigued that Eccles, as a Republican businessman from Utah-and yes a Mormon-became the New Deal's most forceful advocate of Keynesian policy. Since that time I have come to learn far more about his participation in those years, and, indeed, a good deal more about the vexed political and economic milieu in which his career as a public servant unfolded. Although this work is clearly intended to amplify the contributions that Eccles made in important policy areas, it also seeks to correct some inaccuracies that have frequently been conveyed about the details of his participation. Moreover, his fiscal and monetary interests were so extensive that it would not be too far afield to view what follows as a history of the New Deal with Eccles as the focal point."