This book argues that schools were a driving force in the formation of social, political, and financial capital during the market revolution.

Part I. Education and Social Capital Formation: 1. Introduction - the place of schooling in a transforming political economy; 2. Creating social capital - norms of school and community building; 3. A matter of trust - neighbors and strangers; 4. Discipline - evangelicalism as an educational movement; 5. Bonding and bridging - the Methodist economy; 6. Development - evangelicalism and capital formation; Part II. Schools as Agencies of Politicization: 7. Between markets and the state - venture schools and academies; 8. Political economies of schooling - academies and common schools; 9. Education and civic engagement - schools and politics; 10. Diffusing intelligence - education and formation of the liberal state; 11. Denominational politics and institution-building; 12. Education and coalition building; Part III. Education and Economic Transformation: 13. Education as an object of capital investment; 14. Varieties of trust - education and economic competition; 15. Controlling capital - education and the politics of economic change; 16. Success - education and the culture of the market; 17. Panic - education and the discipline of the market; 18. Friends - learning the value of trust; Conclusion: education and the creation of capital; Appendix.