DOCSLIB.ORG

The Political Economy of Monetary Institutions an International Organization Reader Edited by William T

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Political Economy of Monetary Institutions an International Organization Reader Edited by William T T he Political Economy of Monetary Institutions he Political The Political Economy of Monetary Institutions An International Organization Reader edited by William T. Bernhard, J. Lawrence Broz, and William Roberts Clark Recent analysis by political economists of monetary institution determi- nants in different countries has been limited by the fact that exchange rate regimes and central bank institutions are studied in isolation from each other, without examining how one institution affects the costs and benefits of the other. By contrast, the contributors to this volume analyze the choice of exchange rate regime and level of central bank independence together; the articles (originally published in a special issue of International Organization) constitute a second generation of research on the determi- nants of monetary institutions. The contributors consider both economic and political factors to explain a country’s choice of monetary institutions, and examine the effect of political processes in democracies, including interest group pressure, on the balance between economic and distribu- tional policy. William Bernhard is Associate Professor of Political Science at the The Political University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. J. Lawrence Broz is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego. William Roberts Clark is Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics at New York University. Economy of Bernhard, Monetary Broz, and Clark, Institutions editors IO International Organization Reader An International Organization Reader edited by William T. Bernhard, The MIT Press 0-262-52414-7 J. Lawrence Broz, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142 http://mitpress.mit.edu ,!7IA2G2-fcebei!:t;K;k;K;k William Roberts Clark The Political Economy of Monetary Institutions THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF MONETARY INSTITUTIONS edited by William Bernhard, J. Lawrence Broz, and William Roberts Clark A special issue of International Organization The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England The contents of this book were first published in International Organization (ISSN 0020-8183), a publication of the MIT Press under the sponsorship of the IO Foundation. Except as otherwise noted, copyright in each article is held jointly by the IO Foundation and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2003 The IO Foundation and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The political economy of monetary institutions / edited by William Bernhard, J. Lawrence Broz, William Roberts Clark. p. cm. “A special issue of International organization.” Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-262-52414-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Financial institutions. I. Bernhard, William (William T.) II. Broz, J. Lawrence. III. Clark, William Roberts. IV. International organization. HG173.P65 2003 332.1—dc21 2003051314 10987654321 International Organization Volume 56, Number 4, Autumn 2002 Preface xiii The Political Economy of Monetary Institutions William 1 Bernhard, J. Lawrence Broz, and William Roberts Clark Partisan and Electoral Motivations and the Choice of Monetary 33 Institutions Under Fully Mobile Capital William Roberts Clark Checks and Balances, Private Information, and the Credibility of 59 Monetary Commitments Philip Keefer and David Stasavage Veto Players and the Choice of Monetary Institutions Mark 83 Hallerberg Political Parties and Monetary Commitments William Bernhard 111 and David Leblang Real Sources of European Currency Policy: Sectoral Interests and 139 European Monetary Integration Jeffry A. Frieden Political System Transparency and Monetary Commitment 169 Regimes J. Lawrence Broz Competing Commitments: Technocracy and Democracy in the 197 Design of Monetary Institutions John R. Freeman Contributors William Bernhard is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He can be reached at [email protected]. J. Lawrence Broz is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego, California. He can be reached at [email protected]. William Roberts Clark is Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics at New York University. He can be reached at [email protected]. John R. Freeman is McKnight University Professor and Chair of the Depart- ment of Political Science at the University of Minnesota. He can be reached at [email protected]. Jeffry A. Frieden is Professor of Government at Harvard University. He can be reached at [email protected]. Mark Hallerberg is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. He can be reached at [email protected]. Philip Keefer is Lead Research Economist in the Development Research Group at the World Bank. He can be reached at [email protected]. David Leblang is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado. He can be reached at [email protected]. David Stasavage is Lecturer in the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics. He can be reached at [email protected]. Abstracts The Political Economy of Monetary Institutions by William Bernhard, J. Lawrence Broz, and William Roberts Clark In recent decades, countries have experimented with a variety of monetary institutions, including alternative exchange-rate arrangements and different levels of central bank inde- pendence. Political economists have analyzed the choice of these institutions, emphasizing their role in resolving both the time-inconsistency problem and dilemmas created by an open economy. This “first-generation” work, however, suffers from a central limitation: it studies exchange-rate regimes and central bank institutions in isolation from one another without investigating how one monetary institution affects the costs and benefits of the other. By contrast, the contributors to this volume analyze the choice of exchange-rate regime and central bank independence together and, in so doing, present a “second generation” of research on the determinants of monetary institutions. The articles incorporate both economic and political factors in explaining the choice of monetary institutions, investigating how political institutions, democratic processes, political party competition, and interest group pressures affect the balance between economic and distributional policy objectives. Partisan and Electoral Motivations and the Choice of Monetary Institutions Under Fully Mobile Capital by William Roberts Clark Central bank independence and pegged exchange rates have each been viewed as solutions to the inflationary bias resulting from the time inconsistency of discretionary monetary policy. While it is obvious that a benevolent social planner would opt for such an institutional solution, it is less obvious that a real-world incumbent facing short-term partisan or electoral pressures would do so. In this article, I model the choice of monetary institutions from the standpoint of a survival-maximizing incumbent. It turns out that a wide range of survival- maximizing incumbents do best by forfeiting control over monetary policy. While political pressures do not, in general, discourage monetary commitments, they can influence the choice between fixed exchange rates and central bank independence. I highlight the importance of viewing fiscal policy and monetary policy as substitutes and identify the conditions under which survival-maximizing incumbents will view fixed exchange rates and central bank independence as substitutes. In so doing, I provide a framework for integrating other contributions to this volume. Checks and Balances, Private Information, and the Credibility of Monetary Commitments by Philip Keefer and David Stasavage In this article, we argue that the effectiveness of central bank independence and exchange-rate pegs in solving credibility problems is contingent on two factors: political institutions and information asymmetries. However, the impact of these two factors differs. We argue that the presence of one institution—multiple political veto players—should be crucial for the effectiveness of central bank independence, but should have no impact on the efficacy of exchange-rate pegs. In contrast, exchange-rate pegs should have a greater anti-inflationary impact when it is difficult for the public to distinguish between inflation generated by policy choice and inflation resulting from exogenous shocks to the economy. Such information asymmetries between the public and the government, however, do not increase the efficacy of central bank independence. Empirical tests using newly developed data on political institutions provide strong support for our hypotheses. Veto Players and the Choice of Monetary Institutions by Mark Hallerberg I argue that two types of veto players matter in the choice of monetary institutions: party veto players and subnational governments, which are strong in federal systems but weak in unitary systems. A crucial issue is whether voters can readily identify the manipulation of the economy with party players. A second issue concerns the national party veto player’s ability to control either fiscal or monetary policy. In one-party unitary governments
Load more

Recommended publications
  • NORMAN K Denzin Sacagawea's Nickname1, Or the Sacagawea
    NORMAN K DENZIN Sacagawea’s Nickname1, or The Sacagawea Problem The tropical emotion that has created a legendary Sacajawea awaits study...Few others have had so much sentimental fantasy expended on them. A good many men who have written about her...have obviously fallen in love with her. Almost every woman who has written about her has become Sacajawea in her inner reverie (DeVoto, 195, p. 618; see also Waldo, 1978, p. xii). Anyway, what it all comes down to is this: the story of Sacagawea...can be told a lot of different ways (Allen, 1984, p. 4). Many millions of Native American women have lived and died...and yet, until quite recently, only two – Pocahantas and Sacagawea – have left even faint tracings of their personalities on history (McMurtry, 001, p. 155). PROLOGUE 1 THE CAMERA EYE (1) 2: Introduction: Voice 1: Narrator-as-Dramatist This essay3 is a co-performance text, a four-act play – with act one and four presented here – that builds on and extends the performance texts presented in Denzin (004, 005).4 “Sacagawea’s Nickname, or the Sacagawea Problem” enacts a critical cultural politics concerning Native American women and their presence in the Lewis and Clark Journals. It is another telling of how critical race theory and critical pedagogy meet popular history. The revisionist history at hand is the history of Sacagawea and the representation of Native American women in two cultural and symbolic landscapes: the expedition journals, and Montana’s most famous novel, A B Guthrie, Jr.’s mid-century novel (1947), Big Sky (Blew, 1988, p.
    [Show full text]
  • Fact Sheet #3
    Stream Team Academy Fact Sheet #3 LEWIS & CLARK An Educational Series For Stream Teams To Learn and Collect Stream Team Academy Fact Sheet Series 004 marks the bicentennial of the introverted, melancholic, and moody; #1: Tree Planting Guide Lewis and Clark expedition. Clark, extroverted, even-tempered, and 2Meriwether Lewis and his chosen gregarious. The better educated and more #2: Spotlight on the Big companion, William Clark, were given a refined Lewis, who possessed a Muddy very important and challenging task by philosophical, romantic, and speculative President Thomas Jefferson. Lewis was a mind, was at home with abstract ideas; #3: Lewis & Clark long-time friend of Jeffersons and his Clark, of a pragmatic mold, was more of a personal secretary. They shared common practical man of action. Each supplied Watch for more Stream views on many issues but, perhaps most vital qualities which balanced their Team Academy Fact importantly, they both agreed on the partnership. Sheets coming your way importance of exploring the west. The The men and their accompanying soon. Plan to collect the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 made this party were brave and courageous. They entire educational series possible as well as critical for a growing had no way of knowing what they would for future reference! nation to learn about the recently acquired encounter on their journey or if they lands and peoples that lay between the would make it back alive. They set out Mississippi River and a new western with American pride to explore the border. unknown, a difficult task that many times Both Lewis and Clark have been goes against human nature.
    [Show full text]
  • 73 Custer, Wash., 9(1)
    Custer: The Life of General George Armstrong the Last Decades of the Eighteenth Daily Life on the Nineteenth-Century Custer, by Jay Monaghan, review, Century, 66(1):36-37; rev. of Voyages American Frontier, by Mary Ellen 52(2):73 and Adventures of La Pérouse, 62(1):35 Jones, review, 91(1):48-49 Custer, Wash., 9(1):62 Cutter, Kirtland Kelsey, 86(4):169, 174-75 Daily News (Tacoma). See Tacoma Daily News Custer County (Idaho), 31(2):203-204, Cutting, George, 68(4):180-82 Daily Olympian (Wash. Terr.). See Olympia 47(3):80 Cutts, William, 64(1):15-17 Daily Olympian Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian A Cycle of the West, by John G. Neihardt, Daily Pacific Tribune (Olympia). See Olympia Manifesto, by Vine Deloria, Jr., essay review, 40(4):342 Daily Pacific Tribune review, 61(3):162-64 Cyrus Walker (tugboat), 5(1):28, 42(4):304- dairy industry, 49(2):77-81, 87(3):130, 133, Custer Lives! by James Patrick Dowd, review, 306, 312-13 135-36 74(2):93 Daisy, Tyrone J., 103(2):61-63 The Custer Semi-Centennial Ceremonies, Daisy, Wash., 22(3):181 1876-1926, by A. B. Ostrander et al., Dakota (ship), 64(1):8-9, 11 18(2):149 D Dakota Territory, 44(2):81, 56(3):114-24, Custer’s Gold: The United States Cavalry 60(3):145-53 Expedition of 1874, by Donald Jackson, D. B. Cooper: The Real McCoy, by Bernie Dakota Territory, 1861-1889: A Study of review, 57(4):191 Rhodes, with Russell P.
    [Show full text]
  • Lewis & Clark Timeline
    LEWIS & CLARK TIMELINE The following time line provides an overview of the incredible journey of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Beginning with preparations for the journey in 1803, it highlights the Expedition’s exploration of the west and concludes with its return to St. Louis in 1806. For a more detailed time line, please see www.monticello.org and follow the Lewis & Clark links. 1803 JANUARY 18, 1803 JULY 6, 1803 President Thomas Jefferson sends a secret letter to Lewis stops in Harpers Ferry (in present-day West Virginia) Congress asking for $2,500 to finance an expedition to and purchases supplies and equipment. explore the Missouri River. The funding is approved JULY–AUGUST, 1803 February 28. Lewis spends over a month in Pittsburgh overseeing APRIL–MAY, 1803 construction of a 55-foot keelboat. He and 11 men head Meriwether Lewis is sent to Philadelphia to be tutored down the Ohio River on August 31. by some of the nation’s leading scientists (including OCTOBER 14, 1803 Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Smith Barton, Robert Patterson, and Caspar Wistar). He also purchases supplies that will Lewis arrives at Clarksville, across the Ohio River from be needed on the journey. present-day Louisville, Kentucky, and soon meets up with William Clark. Clark’s African-American slave York JULY 4, 1803 and nine men from Kentucky are added to the party. The United States’s purchase of the 820,000-square mile DECEMBER 8–9, 1803 Louisiana territory from France for $15 million is announced. Lewis leaves Washington the next day. Lewis and Clark arrive in St.
    [Show full text]
  • 3Rd Grade Day 1
    3rd Grade Day 1 Language Arts: Read your A.R. book for 20 minutes. Write 3 words that were new to you or 3 words of which you weren’t completely sure of the definition. Look up the definitions of those 3 words and write them on a piece of loose leaf paper; be sure to include the part of speech. Social Studies: Read the biography on Bruno Mars (attached) Write down 5 things you learned from the article. Day 2 3rd Grade Language Arts: Read your A.R. book for 20 minutes. Write 5 bullet points explaining what you read. EXAMPLE: The Munchkins told Dorothy and Toto followed the Yellow Brick Road to see the Wizard of Oz. Social Studies: Read the biography on Military Leaders: Geronimo (attached) Write down 5 things you learned from the article. Day 3 3rd Grade Language Arts: Read your A.R. book 20 minutes. Write 3 words that were new to you or 3 words of which you weren’t completely sure of the definition. Look up the definitions of those 3 words and write them on a piece of paper; be sure to include the part of speech. Social Studies: Read the biography on Jane Goodall (attached) Write down 5 things you learned from the article. Day 4 3rd Grade Language Arts: Read your A.R. book 30 minutes. Write 5 bullet points explaining what you read. EXAMPLE: The Munchkins told Dorothy and Toto followed the Yellow Brick Road to see the Wizard of Oz. Social Studies: Read the biography on Anne Frank (attached) Write down 5 things you learned from the article.
    [Show full text]
  • CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— Extensions of Remarks E750 HON
    E750 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks May 8, 2001 of the 1950s. The less-stable post-Cold War this week as the Regional Subcontractor of smuggling operations, while staying out of the world, with the addition of such nations as the Year. She is the first in our region to re- host nation’s respective internal affairs and Northern Korea, Iraq and Iran to the list of ceive this award. chain of command. Although an innovative ap- potential nuclear threats, adds to that. (In fairness, though, Ms. Hillburst’s father started the Commercial proach to drug policy, this helping-hand policy The ABM treaty is a sticking point, of Printing Company in Rockford in 1948. She is in obvious need of review, especially with sorts, but that doesn’t mean a new document assumed the helm of the company in 1989. respect to Peru. can’t be crafted to take its place. Contrary, The business performs customized and com- Mr. Speaker, as you know, Section 1012 of perhaps, to common perception, there is a mercial printing jobs. Rebecca Hillburst and the 1995 Defense Authorization Act requires provision for withdrawing from it. Either her four employees, George, Lars and Eleanor Russia or the United States can get out on Hillburst and Darcie Powelson are symbolic of that U.S. intelligence and related assets can six months’ notice by explaining that its the small entrepreneurial enterprise that only be used if the President determines ‘‘supreme interests’’ have been jeopardized whether drug smuggling comprise an ‘‘extraor- by events relating to the treaty. makes America great.
    [Show full text]
  • ORPHEUM BISBEE Crats Would No Doubt Come to It from and Race Suicide Become Iise Bisbee, Arizona
    PAGE FOUR THE BISBEE DAILY REVIEW, BtSBEE, ARIZONA, FRIDAY MORING, JULY 31, 1908. DEMOCRATIC BARBECUE tackle any one of the numerous sub- - MAKING BEAUTY c- isSMtfiaMMSMisiswisissjiatsewisMwesMisisieMsieisisissiiiesMWSMisisiew THE BISBEE DAILY REVIEW FOR RATIFICATION concerning which one so well In- - A CRIME The Warren Democratic. Club has formed may write without leg work. What is in effect a bill to abolish1 -- All the News That's Fit to Print." already determined upon a grand bar There would always be the uudiscov- - matrimony has been introduced in the; Published at Bisbee, Arizona, the bocuo to be gives at Lewis Spiinus ered north pole ai which to dash and (leorgia legislature by Assemblyman est Mining City In the West, at the - anthropoid to Review Building, corner O. K. Street sometime after the territorial conven- our ancestor, the ujie, Glenn. The measure provides that Bank Bisboe mo Review Avenue. ,o August wilds, and If any woman, maid or of on The tion be held at Prescott studv in his native the' whether i i 8th. It is the purpose of the club to Andes and the Alps and the nioun- - widow, shall betray into matrimony, BISBEE, ARIZONA CONSOLIDATED PRINTING k PUB- ? climb write any unsuspecting the1 LISHING COMPANY. arrange to have Hon. Man Smith as tains of the moon to and male subject of W. H. BROPHY, President M. J. CUNNINGHAM, Cashier the principal orator and it is pro- - from. The mine of material Is inex- - state by scents, paints, powder or J. 8. DOUGLAS, H. A. SCHWARTZ, Ass't. Cashier CO. H. KELLY President W.
    [Show full text]
  • Into the Great Unknown to Explore the West and Learn About the Land
    Meriwether Lewis and William Clark Biography Try to imagine what it would be like to explore unfamiliar territory, traveling ahead without knowing what might be over the next mountain or river. Would you have the courage to set out on such a journey? Back in the early 1800s, two men did. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set off into the great unknown to explore the West and learn about the land. In doing so, they opened up the western part of the United States for future settlement and learned about the abundant natural resources contained in this land. What kind of men were they? Read on to learn the story of these two amazing men. Meriwether Lewis During his childhood, Meriwether Lewis lived on a plantation called Locust Hill. It was located in Virginia, near Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello. When Lewis was a young man, he joined the army. His intelligence and keen eye for detail won the approval of officers. As a result, Lewis moved up quickly through the army’s ranks. Then, in 1801, something What lies beyond those distant mountains? For the explorers Lewis and Clark, the only way to find out changed Lewis’s life was to journey across them. dramatically. President Thomas Jefferson honored the 27-year-old Lewis by asking him to be his personal secretary. Lewis moved from the world of the military into the world of politics, from fighting on the frontier to the relatively civilized world of Washington, DC. Things moved quickly for Lewis from that point on. President Jefferson was deeply interested in the exploration of the West.
    [Show full text]
  • John C. Freemont's Expeditions Into Utah: an Historical Analysis of the Explorer's Contributions and Significance To
    Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 1986-12-01 John C. Freemont's Expeditions into Utah: An Historical Analysis of the Explorer's Contributions and Significance ot the Region Alexander L. Baugh Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Mormon Studies Commons, and the United States History Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Baugh, Alexander L., "John C. Freemont's Expeditions into Utah: An Historical Analysis of the Explorer's Contributions and Significance ot the Region" (1986). Theses and Dissertations. 4511. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4511 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. JOHN C FREMONTS expeditions UTAH historical ANALYSIS EXPLOREREXPLORERS contributions significance REGION thesis presented department history brigham young university partial fulfillment requirements degree master arts aleaiealenanderalexanderandtandir L baugh december 10198686 thesis alexander L baugh accepted present form department history brigham young university satisfying thesis requirement degree master arts B allenailencommittee chairman av er committee member 7 jez532 datejjz D michael quinn Ggraduateduatecuate coordinator00oordiadinator acknowledgementsACKNOWLEDGE MENTS my sincere thanks must
    [Show full text]
  • The Clark Family History” by Linda Benson Cox, 2003; Edited, 2006 “Take Everything with a Grain of Salt”
    “The Clark Family History” By Linda Benson Cox, 2003; Edited, 2006 “Take everything with a grain of salt” Old abandoned farmhouse, 2004 View of the Tennessee River Valley looking toward Clifton, 2004 "Let us go to Tennessee. We come, you and I, for the music and the mountains, the rivers and the cotton fields, the corporate towers and the country stores. We come for the greenest greens and the haziest blues and the muddiest browns on earth. We come for the hunters and storytellers, for the builders and worshippers. We come for dusty roads and turreted cities, for the smells of sweet potato pie and sweat of horses and men. We come for our quirkiness and our cleverness. We come to celebrate our common 1 bonds and our family differences." REVEREND WILLIAM C. CLARK While Tennessee was still a territory, trappers and scouts were searching for prospective home sites in West Tennessee including the area where Sardis now stands. Soon families followed these scouts over the mountains of East Tennessee into Middle Tennessee. Some remained in Middle Tennessee, but others came on into West Tennessee in a short time. Thus, some settled in Sardis and the surrounding area...the roads were little more than blazed paths…as did other early settlers, the first settlers of Sardis settled near a spring…as early as 1825, people from miles around came to this “Big Meeting” place just as others were gathering at other such places during that time of great religious fervor. It was Methodist in belief, but all denominations were made welcome…as a result of the camp meetings people began to come here and establish homes.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nunn Family Seven Generations of Ranching a Humble Man Judge
    SPRING 2010 The Nunn Family Seven Generations of Ranching A Humble Man Judge William Clark Spring Branding A Mary Williams Hyde Portfolio The Living Words of the Constitution Part 10 www.paragonfoundation.org $5.95 US The Journal of the PARAGON Foundationion,, Inc. OUR MISSION The PARAGON Foundation provides for education, research and the exchange of ideas in an effort to promote and support Constitutional principles, individual freedoms, private property rights and the continuation of rural customs and culture – all with the intent of celebrating and continuing our Founding Fathers vision for America. The PARAGON Foundation, Inc. • To Educate and Empower We invite you to join us. www.paragonfoundation.org Photo by Mary Williams Hyde Martin Black, often a visitor at the Alvord Ranch just up the road, was helping with branding at the Kueny Ranch this day in the vast Great Basin desert of eastern Oregon. A day or so after this photo was taken, he got into a horrific tangle with a big range bull and a fence while horseback and was severely injured. The spiral fracture to his leg has taken months to heal. Black is a well- known vaquero-style horseman and ranch roping clinician. Spring 2010 Volume 6 no. 1 William C. reynolds EDITOR nicole Krebs ASSOCIATE EDITOR marilyn Fisher SPECIAL FEATURES EDITOR robin ireland ART DIRECTOR mary Williams Hyde FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER Darrell Arnold Julie Chase Baldocchi myron Beck mark Bedor robert Dawson guy de galard Jay Dusard Dan gagliasso Heather Hafleigh Adam Jahiel Jim Keen Thea marx CONTRIBUTORS THE PARAGON FOUNDATION gB oliver EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER Don “Bebo” lee VICE PRESIDENT Stella montoya SECRETARY / TREASURER 2 Alice eppers Bobby Jones Daniel martinez Jonna lou Schafer DIRECTORS For sponsorship inquiries, contact nicole Krebs – 575.434.8998 at the pArAgon Foundation, inc.
    [Show full text]
  • What Happened to Sacagawea After the Journey? Nancy Wolf
    What Happened to Sacagawea After the Journey? Nancy Wolf The author’s notes at the beginning of Streams to the River, River to the Sea tell us, “[Sacagawea] had two sons, lived for some eighty years, and is buried in the Wind River Valley of Wyoming” (p. ix). In truth, there are many tales about what happened to this Shoshone woman. Many tales support the story that, after the expedition, Sacagawea and Charbonneau went back to the village where they first met, Metaharta. They lived with the Minnetarees for about three years. William Clark was excited to give Charbonneau and Sacagawea’s son Jean Baptiste a good educa- tion. At Clark’s invitation, the family moved to be not too far from St. Louis, Missouri, where the boy started school. From this point forward, it is unclear what really happened to Sacagawea. Some say she died in her mid-twenties, others say she lived to be an old woman. It will be up to you to put the facts together for yourself. In 1811, a fur dealer met Sacagawea and wrote in his journal that she was “sickly and longed to re- visit her native country.” At some point, Sacagawea gave birth to a little girl and named her Lizette Charbonneau. Then on December 20, 1812, a clerk at the trading post recorded that “…the wife of Charbonneau, a Snake (Shoshone) Squaw, died of putrid fever.” He added that she was “aged about 25 years. She left a fine infant girl.” It is believed that Charbonneau died in an Indian attack on the trading post only a few months after Sacagawea’s death.
    [Show full text]