Adam Smith and the Origins of American Enterprise

Adam Smith, a Scottish Professor of Moral Philosophy, published his classic Wealth of Nations in 1776, the year the American Revolution began. Smith became widely known for his ideas of free markets, laissez-faire capitalism, and the 'invisible hand' of a wealth-creating business society. Yet British politicians and the landed gentry paid little attention and enacted none of Smith's suggested reforms. Smith was read avidly, however, by the Founding Fathers, including Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin. Knowing that unless a sound and prosperous economy could be created in America, the experiment in democracy might fail, and they turned to the ideas of Adam Smith to create and jump-start an economic system for America with both immediate and long-sustained results.