King of the Alley - (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society) by Robert F Jones (Hardcover)

About the Book

Jones offers a full study of the career of late-18th century entrepreneur William Duer, a member of the New York State Convention and the Continental Congress, and assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury when the Federal government was organized. Duer had a role in all the significant changes that occurred during the revolutionary period.

Book Synopsis

William Duer belonged to the middle ranks of those who led America to success in her struggle for independence, standing just behind such men as John Jay and Robert R. Livingston. Duer, as a member of the N.Y. State Convention and the Continental Congress, as Sec. to the Board of Treasury under the Confed. and Assist. to the Sec. of the Treasury when the fed. govt. was organized, had a role in all the significant changes which occurred during the revolutionary period. Yet interspersed with his public career was his career as a stock speculator, land promoter, army contractor, and merchant. Duer never tired of trying to combine public office with private profit. This is the first full scale study of Duer's entire career, although, due to lack of material about his personal life, it should not be taken as a biography.

Review Quotes

"Jones's portrait of Duer as a scheming speculator...is well researched and persuasive."--Carl E. Swanson "The Historian"

"Readable and nicely crafted... the author and publisher are to be applauded for making [Duer's] milieu accessible to a more general history readership."--Stefan Bielinski "New York History"