大象传媒

Throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries, the British pound - or sterling - was the internationally accepted medium of exchange, based on the gold standard. The American dollar only came into existence in late 18th century because of the desire of the inhabitants of what had already become Britain's most important colony to run their own lives. Indeed, the trigger for Revolution was money - the British Monarch's need for tax revenues from the colonies and the settlers' determination to run their own affairs.

In the second programme of this five-part series, Graham Ingham continues the story of how the dollar became the established currency of the United States - a process that took the best part of 200 years and was no easy task.

In 1785, nine years after the declaration of independence and two years after the end of the Revolutionary War, the leaders of the newly established republic declared that the dollar would be the monetary unit of the United States. At that time they were weren't thinking about global dominance or even about making America a mighty economic power - they were responding to the financial chaos that plagued their new country in the aftermath of the War of Independence. Establishing the dollar as the unit of currency was meant to provide economic and financial stability. The following year, in 1786, the first American mint was established in Philadelphia.

Producer: Ruth Evans
A Ruth Evans production for 大象传媒 Radio 4.