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Democratic Dividends: Stockholding, Wealth, and Politics in New York, 1791–1826

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 May 2012

ERIC HILT  and
JACQUELINE VALENTINE
ERIC HILT*
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481. Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research. E-mail: [email protected].
JACQUELINE VALENTINE*
Affiliation:
Business Analyst, McKinsey & Company, 150 West Jefferson, Suite 1600, Detroit, MI 48226-4449.
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Abstract

Using newly collected data, this article compares the wealth and status of New York City households who owned corporate stock to the general population both in 1791, when there were only two corporations in the state, and in 1826, when there were hundreds. The results indicate that although corporate stock was held principally by the city's elite merchants in both periods, share ownership became more widespread over time among less affluent households. In particular, later corporations were owned and managed by investors who were less wealthy than the stockholders of corporations created in earlier, less democratic periods.

Type
ARTICLES
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 72 , Issue 2 , 30 May 2012 , pp. 332 - 363
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 2012

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