David K. Thomson University of Georgia History Department

“Bonds of War: The Marketing of Union Debt During the ”

The American Civil War cost the federal government $3.2 billion; much of the money was raised from the sale of Union bonds. I am interested in how these bonds were marketed and sold and through this enterprise, what version of the war the Union public was willing to buy and buy into. My dissertation looks particularly at the bond agents—the large financial house of Jay Cooke and Company, their subcontracting agencies, and the thousands of traveling agents who canvassed far and wide to sell their wares. Equally important to me is the language in which they marketed these financial instruments and the host of characters who purchased these acts of confidence in the imperiled Union. This examination of language is crucial, especially as financiers utilized rhetoric that instilled a faith in capitalism constructed around the concepts of Union, democracy, free labor, and the rewards (personal and national) of a centralizing economy. In essence, the democratic messaging of bond sales conveniently made this potential monetary windfall seem a patriotic duty and one that reconstituted the individual relationship to the American state.

After Confederate bonds initially outpaced their Union counterparts, Philadelphia financier Jay Cooke received exclusive rights from Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase to market and sell the $500 million bond issue of October 1862 (commonly referred to as

“five-twenties” as they could be redeemable in five years despite the fact they did not mature for twenty.) This subscription met with wild success and was followed up with the

1865 “Seven-Thirties” bond issue of $800 million. The bond campaign became a windfall for

Cooke and Co. In April 1863, $10 million worth of bonds were sold in a single day, only to be surpassed in October 1863, by a $15 million day of bond sales. Because these bond issues were so critical to Union finance, to a certain extent my dissertation focuses on the work of 2

Jay Cooke’s Philadelphia bank and the wide net it cast to sell over a billion dollars of bonds by the war’s end. However, this is not a biography of Cooke. Rather it extends further to the thousands of smaller agents that spread out throughout the North and western territories to peddle these bonds on behalf of Cooke and other subcontractors ultimately to over half a million subscribers by war’s end.

In addition, the marketing of such securities crossed the Atlantic to buyers in

England, France, the German states, and the Netherlands, ensuring that foreign countries had a vested interest in the Union’s success. Finally, these bonds were also sold in

Confederate states (particularly Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and

Louisiana) as Union forces advanced into these areas during the war. These purchases are of importance because they offered Unionists a chance to demonstrate their loyalty and wavering Confederates a chance to hedge against their own cause. Once more, these bonds were made available with payment plans and in denominations as small as $50, enabling a wide array of investors.

More than anything, my dissertation is about marketing. Newspapers served as the primary point of advertisement for salesmen and the publication of subscriber names; articles also listed the quantities sold by region, which became a clear demonstration of loyalty for many within the northern public. Ministers also urged their congregations to invest in the holy cause of Union often in the form of treasury securities. Other prominent northern financiers organized societies in cities such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia for the purpose of promoting the Union cause and its capitalist institutions. The Loyal

Publication Societies that sprang up in northern urban centers produced volumes such as

“The Maintenance of Union: A National Economic Necessity,” to reinforce the importance of the capitalist system amongst the entire northern population. The purchasing of debt in an imperiled Union by its citizenry was merely one element in ensuring the economic survival 3 of the Union. The message became clear— Union victory was not just unleashing freedom but unleashing the American economy itself.

An Economic History Association Exploratory Travel and Data Grant would facilitate a trip to . The Butler Library at Columbia University, the New York Historical

Society, The Morgan Library & Museum, and the New York Public Library all contain valuable resources for this dissertation. The Butler Library contains some of the records of financier , prominent New Yorker George Templeton Strong, and

Congregational Ministers Joseph Parrish Thompson and Leonard Bacon. The Morgan

Library & Museum contains the papers of prominent financiers John Pierpont and John

Pierpont Morgan. The New York Historical Society contains many collections, most notably the Joseph Seligman Papers. Joseph Seligman operated J & W Seligman & Co. and in this capacity invested heavily in the Union cause—specifically the bond markets (of which

Seligman bought and sold nearly $150 million worth of the bonds abroad in Germany and the Netherlands.) The Robert J. Walker Papers also have transatlantic ties as Walker sought

European investors on behalf of the Federal government during the war. Additionally, the

Brown Brothers Harriman and Company Papers would offer access to the papers of the financial house of Brown Brothers. The National War Committee Papers and Union Defense

Committee Papers offer insight into two separate (yet overlapping) communities of financiers and businessmen who utilized patriotic rhetoric via these organizations to promote their economic agenda. Finally, the New York Public Library contains the Bryant-

Godwin Papers of two prominent New York socialites and their Republican Party dealings, as well as the papers of financiers Levi Morton and Moses Taylor, diplomat John Bigelow, and New York mogul Samuel Ruggles. An EHA Exploratory Travel and Data Grant would enable a research trip to access these valuable collections for my dissertation—tapping into the vital network of New York City Civil War financiers and their political institutions. 4

David K. Thomson University of Georgia History Department

Economic History Association Exploratory Travel and Data Grant Budget

Destination: New York, New York Repositories: New York Historical Society, Morgan Library & Museum, New York Public Library, and Butler Library at Columbia University Dates of Trip: April 20- April 27, 2014 Point of Origin: Athens, Georgia

Travel Breakdown: Butler Library (April 21) Morgan Library & Museum (April 22) New York Public Library (April 23, 26) New York Historical Society (April 24-26)

Airfare and Lodging (bundled): (Atlanta, GA to New York, NY): $2,125 (7 nights at The Wellington)

Transit: Shuttle service from Athens to Atlanta $72

Food and Incidentals: New York City Per Diem (GSA rate at $71 x 6 days): $426

Total Expenses: $2,623

Amount Requested: $2,623