Page:American Historical Review vol. 6.djvu/589

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Bullock: Monetary History of the United States 579 "The life of Phillips Brooks in its varied aspect was that of a stal- wart American citizen who won the affection and appreciation of his generation by the earnestness of his life as a tolerant and inspiring leader in all things that make for the best interests of a nation. He was a preacher, but he was also a marked personality, who impressed himself upon the time, and will ever be remembered as a representative American to whom men will gladly refer, when they try to point out the possi- bilities of American manhood" (p. 384). Mr. Addison, in fact, has read diligently ; he has taken copious notes ; and he has not found time to think them into their mutual re- lations, to phrase them pleasantly, or to infuse into them any suggestions of value. The index, which fills fourteen pages, seems distinctly more careful than the book. Barrett Wendell. Essays on the Monetary History of tlie United States. By Charles J. Bullock, Ph.D. (New York : The Macmillan Co. 1900. Pp. X, 292.) This little volume, belonging to the " Citizen's Library of Econom- ics, Politics and Sociology," consists of three essays entitled "Three Centuries of Cheap Money in the United States;" " The Paper Cur- rency of North Carolina; " and "The Paper Currency of New Hamp- shire." A critic might' possibly quarrel with its inclusion in a series of volumes of so general an interest as implied by the library title, and at least might fairly challenge the shorter title on the cover, " Monetary History of the United States," as misleading. This, however, is a ques- tion for the editor and publishers to settle, for the author is conscienti- ously careful to indicate that the essays are simply contributions to the monetary and financial history of the United States collected in the prep- aration of lectures. The essays for the topics covered are thorough and well done. The author's general thesis is that the movements in this country in favor of cheap money, from the earliest period of colonization down to the most recent manifestations, have been chiefly due to the constant spread of settlement westward over large areas that have long remained thinly populated. The inflationist movement finds its strength in the sparsely settled regions where the scarcity of capital is experienced most keenly. In support of this proposition there is the more general essay, the first of those mentioned above, which includes a survey of wampum and barter currency, the silver and gold and paper currencies of the colonies, Continental paper money, the state banks of issue, the treasury notes of the Civil War period, and the more recent agitation for an increase of silver coinage. The author then proceeds to test his thesis by a detailed investigation of the currenc)' experience of two colonies, one in the south. North Carolina, the other in the north, New Hampshire. The proposition is not a new one, as the author admits ; it has been dwelt upon by Professor Sumner ; but Professor Bullock, although he