John F. Hinrichs

Incoming presidents quote from the “greats”—Washington, Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt (FDR). Ronald Reagan in 1980 had an advantage over FDR; he had a clear-cut vision of his goals.

Community bankers manage a small share of the banking system; nevertheless, they provide valuable services to farmers, consumers, and small business owners. Joe Ricketts, the founder of TD Ameritrade, thinks that community banks prosper with less regulation. They will provide entrepreneurial capital--leading to more jobs, improving the economy. Since well-run community banks provide unique products and services, continuation appears certain with probable help coming soon in the form of relief from regulatory overkill by Dodd-Frank regulations of capital requirements and mortgages. The following sections will review research findings under the general themes of descriptions, characteristics, and outcomes.

The war for independence waged in 1835-1836 by Texas freedom fighters was in my opinion primarily necessitated by Mexican decrees abolishing slavery within its frontier states. Mexican hegemony in the area included an anti-slavery strategy in its new order of 1835 that erroneously depended upon actual slave insurrections as a military tool for creating an offensive against Texas militia.