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In 1776 the United States government started out on a shoestring and quickly went bankrupt fighting its War of Independence against Britain. At the wars end, the national government owed tremendous sums to foreign creditors and its own citizens. But lacking the power to tax, it had no means to repay them. The Founders and Finance is the first book to tell the story of how foreign-born financial specialistsimmigrantssolved the fiscal crisis and set the United States on a path to long-term economic success. Pulitzer Prizewinning author Thomas K. McCraw analyzes the skills and worldliness of Alexander Hamilton from the Danish Virgin Islands, Albert Gallatin from the Republic of Geneva, and other immigrant founders who guided the nation to prosperity.