Capitalism and the American Revolution

The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of American independence, yet the founding is controversial now in ways it has not been in decades. In honor of this significant anniversary, the American Enterprise Institute offers a major intellectual and educational project to reintroduce Americans to the unique value of their national inheritance.

In the second volume of this series, leading historians, political scientists, and economists analyze the role that the market economy played in the creation of the United States. Alongside the American Declaration of Independence, 1776 marked the publication of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations. This work shaped the political and economic thought of many leaders in the American Revolution, including those who would go on to join rival political parties, such as Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. At the same time, the founders evinced concerns over what economic inequality might mean for political freedom in the fledgling republic.

Understanding how the founding generation viewed the promises and perils of capitalism in securing the future of the United States can shed light on modern debates over capitalism’s role in American society.