Financing the American Dream: A Cultural History of Consumer Credit (Princeton Paperbacks)

At last--an accessible and scholarly history of the American consumer's best friend and worst enemy.--James Grant, author of and editor of "Lendol Calder is the first scholar in the field of modern U.S. social history to describe and analyze the century-long (1820s through 1920s) evolution of the incidence of debt, the availability of credit, and the prevailing attitudes toward both, as keystones to understanding twentieth-century changes in U.S. consumer cultureO. The quality of writing in the book is exceptional."--Otis A. Pease, University of Washington Once there was a golden age of American thrift, when citizens lived sensibly within their means and worked hard to stay out of debt. The growing availability of credit in this century, however, has brought those days to an end--undermining traditional moral virtues such as prudence, diligence, and the delay of gratification while encouraging reckless consumerism. Or so we commonly believe. In this engaging and thought-provoking book, Lendol Calder shows that this conception of the past is in fact a myth. Calder presents the first book-length social and cultural history of the rise of consumer credit in America. He focuses on the years between 1890 and 1940, when the legal, institutional, and moral bases of today's consumer credit were established, and in an epilogue takes the story up to the present. He draws on a wide variety of sources--including personal diaries and letters, government and business records, newspapers, advertisements, movies, and the words of such figures as Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, and P. T. Barnum--to show that debt has always been with us. He vigorously challenges the idea that consumer credit has eroded traditional values. Instead, he argues, monthly payments have imposed strict, externally reinforced disciplines on consumers, making the culture of consumption less a playground for hedonists than an extension of what Max Weber called the "iron cage" of disciplined rationality and hard work. Throughout, Calder keeps in clear view the human face of credit relations. He re-creates the Dickensian world of nineteenth-century pawnbrokers, takes us into the dingy backstairs offices of loan sharks, into small-town shops and New York department stores, and explains who resorted to which types of credit and why. He also traces the evolving moral status of consumer credit, showing how it changed from a widespread but morally dubious practice into an almost universal and generally accepted practice by World War II. Combining clear, rigorous arguments with a colorful, narrative style, Financing the American Dream will attract a wide range of academic and general readers and change how we understand one of the most important and overlooked aspects of American social and economic life. Once there was a golden age of American thrift, when citizens lived sensibly within their means and worked hard to stay out of debt The growing availability of credit in this century, however, has brought those days to an end -- undermining traditional moral virtues such as prudence, diligence, and the delay of gratification while encouraging reckless consumerism. Or so we commonly believe. In this engaging and thought-provoking book, Lendol Calder shows that this conception of the past is in fact a myth.Calder presents the first book-length social and cultural history of the rise of consumer credit in America. He focuses on the years between 1890 and 1940, when the legal, institutional, and moral bases of today's consumer credit were established, and in an epilogue takes the story up to the present. He draws on a wide variety of sources -- including personal diaries and letters, government and business records, newspapers, advertisements, movies, and the words of such figures as Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, and P.T. Barnum -- to show that debt has always been with us. He vigorously challenges the idea that consumer credit has eroded traditional values. Instead, he argues, monthly payments have imposed strict, externally reinforced disciplines on consumers, making the culture of consumption less a playground for hedonists than an extension of what Max Weber called the "iron cage" of disciplined rationality and hard work.Throughout, Calder keeps in clear view the human face of credit relations. He re-creates the Dickensian world of nineteenth-century pawnbrokers, takes us into the dingy backstairs offices of loan sharks, into small-town shops and New York department stores, andexplains who resorted to which types of credit and why. He also traces the evolving moral status of consumer credit, showing how it changed from a widespread but morally dubious practice into an almost universal and generally accepted practice by World War II. Combining clear, rigorous arguments with a colorful, narrative style, Financing the American Dream will attract a wide range of academic and general readers and change how we understand one of the most important and overlooked aspects of American social and economic life.

at Last--an Accessible And Scholarly History Of The American Consumer's Best Friend And Worst Enemy.--james Grant, Author Of money Of The Mind And Editor Of grant's Interest Rate Observer

lendol Calder Is The First Scholar In The Field Of Modern U.s. Social History To Describe And Analyze The Century-long (1820s Through 1920s) Evolution Of The Incidence Of Debt, The Availability Of Credit, And The Prevailing Attitudes Toward Both, As Keystones To Understanding Twentieth-century Changes In U.s. Consumer Cultureö. The Quality Of Writing In The Book Is Exceptional.--otis A. Pease, University Of Washington

calder Has Produced A Book That Will Not Only Add To What We Know About 'consumer Culture,' But Will Also Force Business Historians To Rethink The Relative Importance To The Rise Of Consumerism Of Management Innovations And Advertising. Calder Shows Clearly That There Is A Third Source Of Consumerism: Installment Credit.--william R. Childs, Ohio State University

boston Globe - Charles Stein

lendol Calder Has Taken On Quite A Challenge: To Find Nice Things To Say About Consumer Credit. From The New Testament (owe No Man Anything) To Shakespeare (neither A Borrower Nor A Lender Be), Debt Has Acquired A Rotten Reputation. Borrowing Money Has Been Blamed For Causing Economic Misery, For Forcing People To Live Beyond Their Means, And For Destroying The Long-held American Virtues Of Thrift And Frugality.

Annotation Once there was a golden age of American thrift, when citizens lived sensibly within their means and worked hard to stay out of debt The growing availability of credit in this century, however, has brought those days to an end -- undermining traditional moral virtues such as prudence, diligence, and the delay of gratification while encouraging reckless consumerism. Or so we commonly believe. In this engaging and thought-provoking book, Lendol Calder shows that this conception of the past is in fact a myth. Calder presents the first book-length social and cultural history of the rise of consumer credit in America. He focuses on the years between 1890 and 1940, when the legal, institutional, and moral bases of today's consumer credit were established, and in an epilogue takes the story up to the present. He draws on a wide variety of sources -- including personal diaries and letters, government and business records, newspapers, advertisements, movies, and the words of such figures as Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, and P.T. Barnum -- to show that debt has always been with us. He vigorously challenges the idea that consumer credit has er Calder presents the first book-length social and cultural history of the rise of consumer credit in America. He focuses on the years between 1890 and 1940, when the legal, institutional, and moral bases of today's consumer credit were established, and in an epilogue takes the story up to the present. He draws on a wide variety of sources - including personal diaries and letters, government and business records, newspapers, advertisements, movies, and the words of such figures as Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, and P. T. Barnum - to show that debt has always been with us. He vigorously challenges the idea that consumer credit has eroded traditional values. Instead, he argues, monthly payments have imposed strict, externally reinforced disciplines on consumers, making the culture of consumption less a playground for hedonists than an extension of what Max Weber called the "iron cage" of disciplined rationality and hard work. AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Credit, Consumer Culture, and the American Dream3Pt. 1Getting Trusted: Debt and Credit before Consumer Credit35Ch. 1Beautiful Credit! The Foundation of Modern Society37Ch. 2Debt in the Victorian Money Management Ethic74Pt. 2Getting the Goods: The Making of a Credit Revolution109Ch. 3Small-Loan Lending and the Rise of the Personal Finance Company111Ch. 4Hard Payments: The Rise of Installment Selling156Pt. 3Getting Credit: The Legitimization of Consumer Debt209Ch. 5From Consumptive Credit to Consumer Credit211Ch. 6Consumer Credit in the Great Depression262Epilogue291Notes305Index365