Mellon vs. Churchill: The Untold Story of Treasury Titans at War

Summary

Andrew Mellon, one of the most accomplished businessmen of his era, is almost unknown today. To this shy, diffident (but brilliant) man fell the daunting task of collecting the war debts from European governments still devastated by WWI and struggling to recover economically. Dealing with the US Congress and the heads of foreign governments on the world stage became one of the great adventures of his life. Winston Churchill is one of the best-known figures in history. Mellon vs. Churchill presents Churchill through a different lens, focusing on his service as Chancellor of the Exchequer when Great Britain was the largest debtor to the US. That he became the most vocal critic of American foreign policy during that time is a scarcely told chapter of economic history—and his contentious debate with Mellon has seldom been explored.

Yet, while Churchill served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mellon was his counterpart at the US Treasury, and their debate and fierce differences of opinion about the handling of what Churchill called "the monstrous war debts" made frequent headlines on both sides of the Atlantic. No mention of any of their five meetings are included in the official biographies of either man. Now these confrontations are brought to vivid life in Mellon vs. Churchill, as are many other vignettes from their public, but largely forgotten, rivalry.