| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 93.2

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to JAH online. About 203 words from this article are provided below; about 362 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the Organization of American Historians, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time.
If you are not a member of the Organization of American Historians, you can:: • Join the OAH and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the Journal of American History.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two-hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the Journal of American History (86.1-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the Journal of American History.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 93.2 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

The First Wall Street: Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, and the Birth of American Finance. By Robert E. Wright. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005. viii, 210 pp. $25.00, ISBN 0-226-91026-1.)
Wall Street did not become the financial capital of the United States until 1836. Philadelphia's Chestnut Street filled that role until then. In this brief volume, Robert E. Wright, who has published widely on early American finance, explained Philadelphia's rise and decline as the hub of American economic growth.	1
Several factors accounted for Philadelphia's leadership. As the nation's capital for most of the years 1776–1800, the city enjoyed advantages other urban centers lacked, and relocation of the seat of government in 1800 did not threaten its privileged position. Second, after 1776, Philadelphia replaced London "as the focal point of mercantile information," generating large quantities of publications with data on shipping, commodity prices, and other news vital to the commercial community (p. 11). Moreover, "Philadelphia's early financiers were the nation's greatest innovators," who exploited existing instruments like "negotiable ground rents" and developed new investment institutions and devices, which underwrote fledgling enterprises (p. 11). Lastly, Philadelphia served as headquarters for both the first and the second Banks of the United States.	. . .

There are about 362 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.