Wednesday, August 20, 2014 | 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
In 1812, the United States was financially unprepared for war. It had no national bank and a small tax base with tariff revenues falling. Faced with heavy military expenditures, Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin was forced to turn to innovative financing techniques to pay for a war that saw the burning of Washington, DC, and the writing of the "Star Spangled Banner." David Cowen, the Museum's President/CEO, will explore how one of the Treasury's greatest leaders helped fight the War of 1812.
Cowen has over 20 years experience as a trader on Wall Street, including in the foreign exchange groups at Bankers Trust and Deutsche Bank. The founder of Quasar Capital Partners, a macro hedge fund, Mr. Cowen holds a BA in American history from Columbia College, an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, and an MA and Ph.D. in American history from NYU. He has written extensively on US financial history, and is co-author of Financial Founding Fathers: The Men Who Made America Rich, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2006. He is the co-chair of the International Federation of Finance Museums (IFFM) and serves on the Smithsonian Affiliates Advisory Council and the Federal Reserve Board's Centennial Advisory Council.
Presentation will be followed by Q&A. $5 tickets include Museum admission. Museum members and students are admitted free. Feel free to bring your lunch.