How the US financed World War I using Charlie Chaplin and Girl Scouts

The first world war was one of the deadliest conflicts the world has ever seen. And when the US entered the war in 1917, it faced a massive financial challenge: how to pay for its contribution? Enter Treasury Secretary William McAdoo who launches the groundbreaking Liberty Loan Programme and - alongside an unprecedented national propaganda campaign featuring silent film stars like Charlie Chaplin, Girl Scouts, even a captured German submarine in Central Park - encourages thousands of Americans to ‘buy a bond’ as part of their patriotic duty. But did it work? And what was the longtime impact? Hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth discuss how this campaign raised over $21 billion - the equivalent of around $9 trillion today - and in doing so, birthed the modern US Treasury market and transformed America into a nation of investors. Further reading: A Fabulous Debt: How Bonds Made the Modern World by Robin Wigglesworth To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth Senior Producer: Michela Tindera Executive producer: Kate Ford Original music and sound design: Breen Turner Broadcast engineer: Gregory Bobillot Video editor: Michael Saliba Podcast development: Laura Clarke FT global head of audio: Flo Phillips Learn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at [email protected]. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.