ABSTRACT
Discussing the state of American economic thinking in the eighteenth century might seem a bit pretentious given that the century witnessed the publication of The Wealth of Nations, arguably one of the most notable events in the history of Western economic thought. This chapter begins with an overview of economic, social, and political conditions as a way of giving historical context to the development of American economics during the colonial period prior to independence. Any examination of American economic thought in the eighteenth century must include a discussion of Benjamin Franklin, arguably one of the most fascinating people on the planet during that century, and certainly the "one commanding name in American economic discussion" of pre-revolutionary literature. Political economy included those universal principles applicable to a national economy, to a single sovereign entity. Franklin was probably the most significant political economist in colonial America from 1700 to 1775 but he was not alone.
