Volume 12, Number 4 (2009)
This paper tracks the economic and political developments in the state of Kentucky that led up to the murder, trial, and execution constituting “The Kentucky Tragedy,” and to a second murder involving a son of the Governor of the state. In doing this, the paper ties the developments in money, banking, and the economy to the political and social tensions of the time. As a result, what might otherwise be seen as an overly-wrought anecdote can be seen as among the predictable consequence of misguided policy.