
Michael Blaakman
"Speculation Nation: Land Speculators and Land Mania in the Age of the American Revolution"
Blaakman is a Ph.D. candidate in history at Yale University. His research explores relationships between governments and financial interests in the tumultuous land market that followed American independence. His work reconstructs the culture and strategies of post-revolutionary financiers, asking why and how speculators invested in land, and why governments decided to sell it to them.
Recipient of Amanda and Greg Gregory Family Fellowship