Christopher W. Shaw

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Christopher W. Shaw
EducationPhD, University of California, Berkeley
Occupation(s)Historian, author, and policy analyst

Christopher W. Shaw is an American historian, author, and policy analyst. In 2013, Shaw earned a PhD in history from the University of California, Berkeley.[1] One of the primary focuses of his research has been the history of the United States Postal Service and its decline in recent decades, particularly due to the actions of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.[2][3] He was one of the first to recommend restarting postal banking in 2006, and has continued to promote this idea.[4][5] Shaw is a project director at Ralph Nader's Center for Study of Responsive Law.[6]

Research and works[edit]

Shaw's 2019 book Money, Power, and the People: The American Struggle to Make Banking Democratic covered the history of the American banking system during the Progressive Era and the New Deal era, along with how events such as the Great Depression affected the public's trust in the system.[7] The focus of the book is revealing the impact of collective action by working people on the U.S. banking system. This includes creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, United States Postal Savings System, and Federal Farm Loan Act. The book covers all of this, but parts also are in journal articles.[8][9][10] It also includes how collective action by working people reduced the influence of bankers on the Federal Reserve System in the Banking Act of 1935.[11] Based on Shaw's research, he has called for making the Federal Reserve more accountable to citizens.[12]

His research on the U.S. Postal Service documents its importance to American democracy.[13] He was one of the first to recommend restarting postal banking in 2006, and has continued to promote this idea.[4][5] He also proposed creating a "Post Office Consumer Action Group" that would give the public an organized voice to help counter the influence of large corporations on the U.S. Postal Service.[6]

The validity of his research has been extensively and favorably reviewed.[7][14][15][16]

Published works[edit]

  • First Class: The U.S. Postal Service, Democracy, and the Corporate Threat. City Lights Books. 2021. ISBN 978-0872868779.[17]
  • Money, Power, and the People: The American Struggle to Make Banking Democratic. University of Chicago Press. 2019. ISBN 9780226636337.[18]
  • Preserving the People's Post Office. Essential Books. 2006. ISBN 978-1893520035.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Christopher W. Shaw". University of Chicago Press. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  2. ^ Kim, Mina (October 13, 2021). "Mail Delivery Slowdown Speaks to Bigger Problems for the U.S. Postal Service". KQED. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  3. ^ Jonah Chester (October 4, 2021). "First-Class Mail: The History And Future Of The U.S. Postal Service". A Public Affair (Podcast). WORT. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Preserving the People’s Post Office, pp. 171-186; First Class: The U.S. Postal Service, Democracy, and the Corporate Threat, pp. 174-180
  5. ^ a b Shaw, Christopher W. (July 21, 2020). "Postal Banking is Making a Comeback: Here's How to Ensure It Becomes Reality". Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  6. ^ a b First Class, pp. 154-158; Barr, Stephen (December 15, 2006). "Nearing Takeoff: Compensation For Justice Lawyers' Travel Time". Washington Post. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Dayen, David (May 13, 2020). "Dr. Jekyll, or Mr. Biden?". The American Prospect. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  8. ^ Shaw, Christopher W. (December 8, 2014). ""The Man in the Street Is for It": The Road to the FDIC". Journal of Policy History. 27. Cambridge University Press: 36–60. doi:10.1017/S0898030614000359. S2CID 154303860.
  9. ^ Shaw, Christopher W. (September 9, 2017). ""Banks of the People": The Life and Death of the U.S. Postal Savings System Get access Arrow". Journal of Social History. 52 (1, Fall 2018): 121–152. doi:10.1093/jsh/shx036. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  10. ^ Shaw, Christopher W. (2018). ""Tired of Being Exploited": The Grassroots Origin of the Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916". Agricultural History. 92 (4). Duke University Press: 512–540. doi:10.3098/ah.2018.092.4.512. JSTOR 10.3098/ah.2018.092.4.512. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  11. ^ Money, Power, and the People, pp. 237-256
  12. ^ Shaw, Christopher W. (March 30, 2023). "The Money Question: Is Trump Right About the Fed?". Harper's Magazine. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  13. ^ Shaw, Christopher W. (October 27, 2020). "The U.S. Postal Service Was Designed to Serve Democracy: The 2020 Election Could Depend on Its Success". Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  14. ^ Corrigan, Hope (October 7, 2021). "CHECK'S IN THE MAIL: Who doesn't want the USPS to bring banking back to the post office?". Quartz. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023. Shaw, however, does not anticipate this issue being a strictly partisan one."There is actually a decent amount of support for the postal service amongst Republicans, especially ones who represent a rural district because the postal service is so important in rural America," he says.
  15. ^ Tsirkin, Julie; McCausland, Phil (October 4, 2021). "Politics news: Return of Postal Banking Service Tests New Financial Services". NBC. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  16. ^ Small, Jalen; Rouhandeh, Alex J. (November 12, 2021). "Louis Dejoy's 10 year Plan is Death Knell for U.S. Postal Service". Newsweek. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  17. ^ Reviews for First Class:
  18. ^ Reviews for Money, Power, and the People:

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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