Financial
history
The magazine of the Museum of American Finance
in association with the Smithsonian Institution
Issue 135 • Fall 2020 ( ISSN 1520-4723 )
Kristin Aguilera Editor
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Howard A . Baker , Esq . Howard Baker Associates Lawrence A . Cunningham The George Washington University Brian Grinder Eastern Washington University Gregory DL Morris Freelance Journalist Susie Pak St . John ’ s University Arthur W . Samansky The Samansky Group Myles Thompson Columbia Business School Publishing Janice Traflet Bucknell University Robert E . Wright American Institute for Economic Research Jason Zweig The Wall Street Journal
ART DIRECTION Alan Barnett Design
MUSEUM STAFF David J . Cowen , President / CEO Kristin Aguilera , Deputy Director Robert Dinkelmann , IT / Technology Maura Ferguson , Director of Exhibits Sarah Poole , Collections Manager
Linda Rapacki , Managing Director of Visitor Services and Operations
Mindy Ross , Director , External Relations Ben Urizar , Assistant Director of Visitor Services
Copyright © 2020 by the Museum of American Finance , publisher , 25 Broadway , 5th Floor , New York , NY 10004 . All rights reserved .
Financial History is the official membership magazine of the Museum of American Finance .
IN THIS ISSUE
12 The Money Hackers : How Venmo Became a Verb
Venmo founders Iqram Magdon-Ismail and Andrew Kortina disrupted the world of finance and altered how we think and talk about money . By Daniel P . Simon
18 The Socialist Orphanage
History ’ s lessons and the debates over socialism . By Daniel C . Munson
22 Free ( Business ) People of Color
Antebellum black business owners in New Orleans and Charleston . By Ramon Vasconcellos
28 JPMorgan ’ s Transformation
The past , present and future of America ’ s largest financial institution . By Nicholas P . Sargen
32 Federal Land Grants in the 19th Century
US government officials made meaningful quantities of free land available to hasten the country ’ s economic development . By Michael A . Martorelli
36 White Shoe : New High Priests for a New Century
A new breed of high-powered corporate lawyer emerged in New York City in the late 19th century . By John Oller
41 Where Are They Now ?
The Museum ’ s series on 207 of the underwriters of the 1956 Ford IPO continues with the history of Howard , Weil , Labouisse , Friedrichs & Co . ( founded in New Orleans in 1950 ). By Susie J . Pak
FEATURES
Library of Congress
2 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Fall 2020 | www . MoAF . org