Author: MICHELLE KIM SONG

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I want to start by saying that, in my opinion, it is not an easy class, but not hard either. This course taught me a lot since I have only taken an introductory history class, but my first time taking a history course at Baruch. The required readings expanded my knowledge and learning how other countries worked together was good to learn. In addition, it was interesting to know more about the American business history, the Great Depression, the New Deal, and the meaning of capitalism. Since the beginning of the semester, we learned that there are many ways to define capitalism, and this course helped me understand more in depth about it. Another thing that caught my attention was how and the role the government played. The economic activities and business strategies were also new to me. Taking an American business history course can help understand how businesses worked back then and how they do nowadays.

In Judith Stein’s “Pivotal Decade” preface starts with comparing the 1970s to the 1930s. It was the only decade where “Americans ended up poorer than they began.” (Stein, preface xi). This was known as the “deepest recession” since WW2, because of several factors, including, high oil prices, unemployment and inflation.

In addition, Stein gives an explanation on how Japan and Germany’s competition took place in the 1970s. New changes were needed. Not only this but also, Stein writes about how “the Age of Compression became the Age of Inequality” (Stein, preface, xii). Income and wealth played a big role and were also “redistributed”. She mentions how the Democratic Party and the GOP worked. Finally, the Age of Compression ended in 1973. After reading Stein’s preface, it felt interesting to learn more in depth about the economy and the events back then, since I only took an introductory history course.

Subsequently, in chapter one, Stein highlights how life was better in 1945. For example, Americans were in a much better economic position than other nations. For example, people owned houses and cars. “After WW2, the economy grew 4% a year” and poor people also had the opportunity to gain more. Some economists call this era the “Great Compression” (Stein, 1). Overall, Stein discusses the economic problems, the role of the government, and how problems were solved.

In David Montgomery’s Beyond Equality, he starts by explaining how the economy was doing low, how the introduction of the railroad and the telegraph led to production and corporation to manage “men, money, and materials” during 1847 and 1854. (Montgomery, p.4).

On the other hand, unfortunately, unemployment was high. This part interested me because it reminded me of when many people faced this situation during the covid 19 pandemic. Businesses did not have enough money and struggled to pay their workers, so many had to ‘cut off’ people. These events took place rapidly between 1861- 1865. The topic of unemployment also reminded me of what we learned last class, which happened during the Panic of 1873.

In addition, it tells us how the workers faced a competitive, hard environment because employers demanded more. They were treated bad and not paid attention to. Also, the government played a role in a way to “fostering growth and in the thinking of most entrepreneurs than did economies.” (Montgomery, p.6). In order to improve, many people joined and formed partnerships, an example can be the Cambria Iron Works, which was between Daniel J. Morrell and John Fritz, their business had land and “6,000 men and boys” (Montgomery, p.9). This partnership was known as the ‘nation’s largest fabricator of iron rails.’

Overall, Montgomery shows entrepreneurial crisis, how unemployment affected people’s lives, how the Civil War brought inflation, and how government interfered.

 

For this assignment, I chose Walter Friedman’s reading. It starts explaining how the US was a country that did not do well compared to Europe or Asia. But, in the 19^th century, it changed unexpectedly. This happened thanks to businesses growing and government involvement, trading, etc.

An event that caught my attention was on page 68, which mainly highlights how sources of power, such as electricity and combustion engine, took a role, specifically on businesses and societies. The author explains how people took advantage of this new source, for example, telephone service had a better quality.

In addition, the industry of automobiles was mentioned. It began in the year 1885, by Karl Benz. He “patented a gasoline-powered car with a single cylinder engine” (Friedman 71). Fast forward to the years 1900-1910s, many other people started to work with other sources such as steam and electricity, and came up with the idea of creating automobiles companies. We all know about Henry Ford. The reading explains in depth of how his company started, how went on, and his products. Later on he began agreements with companies such as Alexander Y. Malcomson. His success led to him paying employees “more than double the minimum wage” (Friedman 73), which I think it was a positive event since people would be more interested in working with someone well-known and with a better pay. He appeared on several newspapers, articles, etc. Not only this, but also, his success made him introduce “Fordlandia” which had ‘schools, restaurants and golf courses.'(Friedman 74). Even though he had rivals, his purpose became a reality, which was to “sell affordable cars” (Friedman 74) nationally and internationally. As a result, this reading was engaging to me because it made me think about the time of how industries started, how they operate now and how they are growing in the U.S., even if some companies face challenges sometimes, some rely on agencies or partnerships.