Edwin Perkins's examination of the development of financial services in North American is the first study to focus on the colonial, confederation, and early national eras, highlighting both the continuities of the colonial past and the sweeping institutional innovations after American independence. Perkins analyzes virtually every major financial service-the issuance of paper monies, the rise of capital markets to support the trading of stocks and bonds, the emergence of insurance underwriters to cover fire damage on domestic structures and marine losses, and other related activities. He also...