Harry White and the American Creed: How a Federal Bureaucrat Created the Modern Global Economy (and Failed to Get the Credit)
James M. Boughton
Abstract
Although Harry Dexter White (1892–1948) was arguably the most important U.S. government economist of the twentieth century, he is remembered more for having been accused of being a Soviet agent. During the Second World War, he became chief advisor on international financial policy to Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, a role that would take him to Bretton Woods, where he would make a lasting impact on the architecture of postwar international finance. However, charges of espionage, followed by his dramatic testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee and death from a he ... More
Although Harry Dexter White (1892–1948) was arguably the most important U.S. government economist of the twentieth century, he is remembered more for having been accused of being a Soviet agent. During the Second World War, he became chief advisor on international financial policy to Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, a role that would take him to Bretton Woods, where he would make a lasting impact on the architecture of postwar international finance. However, charges of espionage, followed by his dramatic testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee and death from a heart attack a few days later, obscured his importance in setting the terms for the modern global economy. This book rehabilitates White, delving into his life and work and returning him to a central role as the architect of the world's financial system.
Keywords:
Harry Dexter White,
world finance system,
U.S. government economist,
Soviet agent,
international financial policy,
Henry Morgenthau,
Bretton Woods,
postwar international finance
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2021 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780300253795 |
| Published to Yale Scholarship Online: May 2022 |
DOI:10.12987/yale/9780300253795.001.0001 |
