| Collation |
xiv, 479 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm |
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text txt rdacontent |
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unmediated n rdamedia |
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volume nc rdacarrier |
| Bibliog. |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 387-470) and index. |
| Contents |
Part I: Duplicity and the evolution of American capitalism. The enduring dilemmas of antifraud regulation ; The shape-shifting, never-changing world of fraud -- Part II: A nineteenth-century world of caveat emptor (1810s to 1880s). The porousness of the law ; Channels of exposure -- Part III. Professionalism, moralism, and the elite assault on deception (1860s to 1930s). The beginnings of a modern administrative state ; Innovation, moral economy, and the Postmaster General's peace ; The businessmen's war to end all fraud ; Quandaries of procedural justice -- Part IV: The call for investor and consumer protection (1930s to 1970s). Moving toward Caveat venditor ; Consumerism and the reorientation of antifraud policy ; The promise and limits of the antifraud state -- Part V: The market strikes back (1970s to 2010s). Neoliberalism and the rediscovery of business fraud. |
| Summary |
"In America, fraud has always been a key feature of business, and the national worship of entrepreneurial freedom complicates the task of distinguishing salesmanship from deceit. In this sweeping narrative, Edward Balleisen traces the history of fraud in America -- and the evolving efforts to combat it -- from the age of P. T. Barnum through the eras of Charles Ponzi and Bernie Madoff. This unprecedented account describes the slow, piecemeal construction of modern institutions to protect consumers and investors -- from the Gilded Age through the New Deal and the Great Society. It concludes with the more recent era of deregulation, which has brought with it a spate of costly frauds, including corporate accounting scandals and the mortgage-marketing debacle. By tracing how Americans have struggled to foster a vibrant economy without encouraging a corrosive level of cheating, Fraud reminds us that American capitalism rests on an uneasy foundation of social trust."--Back cover. |
| Note |
Gift of the Estate of Norman Wilkinson. |
| Subject |
Fraud -- United States -- History.
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Commercial crimes -- United States -- History.
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Swindlers and swindling -- United States -- History.
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Financial institutions -- Corrupt practices -- United States -- History.
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Swindlers and swindling. fast (OCoLC)fst01140414 |
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Commercial crimes. fast (OCoLC)fst00869469 |
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Financial institutions -- Corrupt practices. fast (OCoLC)fst00924643 |
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Fraud. fast (OCoLC)fst00933786 |
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United States. fast (OCoLC)fst01204155 |
| ISBN |
9780691164557 |
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069116455X |
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9780691183077 |
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0691183074 |
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