I specialize in American political economy. After studying history and economics at Christopher Newport University, I completed my M.A. and Ph.D. in history at the University of Virginia. I have published articles in the Economic History Review, the Journal of the Early Republic, Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, and Social Science Journal. 

My first book, A Wonderful Career in Crime: Charles Cowlam’s Masquerades in the Civil War Era & Gilded Age, is available now through Louisiana State University Press. The book traces the career of Charles Cowlam, a Gilded Age swindler who received presidential pardons from Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis during the Civil War. His intrigues reveal how Americans built trust amidst the transience and anonymity of the nineteenth century, and exposes the vulnerabilities of a political system built on personal connections. 

I received the Faculty Excellence Award in Interdisciplinarity in 2025, and the Provost's Award for Faculty Excellence in Teaching Student Writing in 2023. At CNU, I regularly offer a course on American Entrepreneurship, and a senior seminar on Alexander Hamilton structured around the award-winning musical. 

You can reach me by email at frank.garmon@cnu.edu