Mellon vs. Churchill

The Untold Story of Treasury Titans at War

Jill Eicher

The never-before-told story of the epic battle of wills between Andrew Mellon and Winston Churchill, as they debated the repayment of the enormous sums loaned by America to Great Britain during World War I.

Andrew Mellon, one of the most accomplished businessmen of his era, is almost unknown today. To this shy, diffident (but brilliant) man fell the daunting task of collecting the war debts from European governments still devastated by World War I and struggling to recover economically. Dealing with the U.S. Congress and the heads of foreign governments on the world stage became one of the great adventures of his life.

Winston Churchill is one of the best-known figures in history. Mellon vs. Churchill presents Churchill through a different lens, focusing on his service as Chancellor of the Exchequer when Great Britain was the largest debtor to the United States. That he became the most vocal critic of American foreign policy during that time is a scarcely told chapter of economic history—and his long and contentious debate with Mellon has seldom been explored.

Yet, during the five years that Churchill served as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1924-1929), Mellon was his counterpart at the United States Treasury, and their debate and fierce differences of opinion about the handling of what Churchill called “the monstrous war debts” made frequent headlines on both sides of the Atlantic.

No mention of any of their five meetings are included in the official biographies of either man. Now these confrontations are brought to vivid life in Mellon vs. Churchill, as are many other vignettes from their very public, but largely forgotten, rivalry. Mellon vs. Churchill brings the reader inside the adventurous lives of these two great public figures—men who were not afraid to take huge risks to pursue their grand ambitions.

After a career in investment management, Jill Eicher  served at the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a specialist in credit risk and worked at the Bipartisan Policy Center as a financial policy analyst. She has been a visiting scholar at Stanford University and, most recently, at the International Churchill Society. Mellon vs. Churchill is her first book. She lives in Washington, DC.

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Endorsements & Reviews

"In this gripping debut history, Eicher, a former U.S. Treasury Department credit risk specialist, examines the heated debate over Allied war debt repayment that broke out between U.S. Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon and British Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill after WWI. Providing an enticing blow-by-blow of the debate, which spilled out into public, Eicher shows how it mixed with discussions about the proposed League of Nations and global unity. It’s a fascinating perspective on the interwar period." Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Jill Eicher has written a fascinating account of a now forgotten chapter in the 'special relationship' between Great Britain and the US, the contentious negotiations over war debts in the aftermath of World War I, that pitted two of the grand figures of the inter-war world, Winston Churchill and Andrew Mellon, against each other. This is history as it should be written, full of the sort of revealing details drawn from contemporary accounts that make the past truly come alive.” Liaquat Ahamed, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lords of Finance

"Few historians can explain financial events clearly, while at the same time shedding new light on their main protagonists. Jill Eicher manages both these feats in her brilliantly researched and written study of Andrew Mellon and Winston Churchill at conflict over the honoring First World War debts.” David Lough, author of No More Champagne: Churchill and his Money

"In an engrossing and deeply reported book, Jill Eicher captures the tension and high wire act as Andrew Mellon and Winston Churchill battled over Great Britain's WW I war debt to the United States. She takes the reader into the vast hotel suites and glamorous ocean liners, with color and drama, to convey the back story and high stakes.” Meryl Gordon, bestselling author of Bunny Mellon: The Life of an American Style Legend

"Anglo-American relations were very tense during the 1920s, and the vexed question of Britain's war debts to the United States was one reason why that was so. Between 1924 and 1929, that issue was handled—and contested—by Andrew W. Mellon, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and Winston S. Churchill, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer. It was an encounter that has never been told before, and Jill Eicher tells it vividly and well." Sir David Cannadine, author of Mellon: An American Life

“A riveting chronicle of the stormy exchanges, the political wheeling and dealing, and the proposed payment solutions surfacing after World War I. The underlying research is thorough and the narrative accessible to readers not expert in the intricacies of international finance. The powerful British and American personalities—most notably Winston Churchill and Andrew Mellon—are vividly outlined, as are the differing financial, political, and ethical perspectives of the combatants. Fascinating reading.” Cita Stelzer, author of Dinner with Churchill and Churchill’s American Network