The first world war was one of the deadliest conflicts the world has ever seen. And when the US entered the war in 1917, it faced a massive financial challenge: how to pay for its contribution? Enter Treasury Secretary William McAdoo who launches the groundbreaking Liberty Loan Programme and - alongside an unprecedented national propaganda campaign featuring silent film stars like Charlie Chaplin, Girl Scouts, even a captured German submarine in Central Park - encourages thousands of Americans to ‘buy a bond’ as part of their patriotic duty.
But did it work? And what was the longtime impact? Hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth discuss how this campaign raised over $21 billion - the equivalent of around $9 trillion today - and in doing so, birthed the modern US Treasury market and transformed America into a nation of investors.
Further reading: A Fabulous Debt: How Bonds Made the Modern World by Robin Wigglesworth
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Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth
Senior Producer: Michela Tindera
Executive producer: Kate Ford
Original music and sound design: Breen Turner
Broadcast engineer: Gregory Bobillot
Video editor: Michael Saliba
Podcast development: Laura Clarke
FT global head of audio: Flo Phillips
Learn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.com.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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