History of American Business: A Baruch College Blog

Month: May 2022

Blog Post #4

This semester has been a wild ride, some parts were tougher than others, and some were more enjoyable too, but I can not not deny the fact that I now have more confidence in American business history than before. This semester has left me constantly thinking and searching for bits of history that are normally overshadowed by events that are generally distinctive. Aside from said generic and obvious events, I came into class knowing very vaguely about business history. The furthest I know was only the beginning, about the Columbian exchange with the Old and New world, and some pieces of records from the 19th and 20th century. All the other facts were new to me, and I have to say that American business and capitalism have come a long way since when it was established. I used to think that capitalism was just simply an economic system that focuses on individual profit, but now I see that it includes investments and profits, a cycle, a lifestyle for the country. 

My surprise comes from the amount of economic revolutions that occurred throughout the course of American business history, from the sheer amount, to how early the first ones have been since. A consumer revolution in the Anglo Atlantic World, and the infamous Shay’s Rebellion of 1787, struck me surprised by their dates. Also, not too long since America was established, mercantilism was the face of the economic system rather than capitalism, which I also found worthwhile and interesting. Finally, this was more confirmation than surprise or news, but capitalism goes hand in hand with war, as shown in WWI and WWII.

Studying about business history from a modern business or economic perspective gives insight, and shared experience. It creates context, lets others know that America has been in the business of creating deals for a long time, and they know of successes and failures from them. It becomes a guide for future generations, and may provide some useful advice to them if it were needed.

Thank you for reading my final blog, this semester has been a blast.

final blog post

History Blogpost

The semester was characterized by insightful information regarding the history of America’s economy, industry, and capitalism to define its current development and existence. Firstly, the readings indicated that the history of America’s business and industry was influenced by foreign nations such as the British following the arrival of the first ships that brought merchants and goods from Britain to promote its economy. Further, the semester revealed that the colonial economy was significant in shaping America’s business and industries during the era of mercantilism because it encouraged more exports than imports to ensure it benefited from a foreign economy and manipulated its resources for its development. The semester’s readings are also important in showing America’s political economy benefited its industry and economy’s success because it passed policies such as reduced taxes and increased wages that enhanced workers’ motivation and commitment to their responsibilities. The rise of the global economy in the 1980s was also significant in the sustenance of America’s economy and industries because it provided foreign labor and affordable rates to encourage venture into various business activities.

The aspects of the history that were surprising to me include the revelation that America’s industry relied on the colonial economy to access labor and resources for manufacturing in various industrial confines. Additionally, it is surprising that the economy was enhanced during the postwar boom that influenced the consumer explosion following economic policies enacted to cushion the citizens from the war’s effects. Notably, studying American history from a business and economic perspective is valuable because it enlightens learners on important economic activities and policies that influenced the nation’s existence to promote its current success. Studying America’s economy through history is also important in influencing individuals to make informed business decisions for successful investment according to the nation’s resources and global business partners.

Blog Post #2 Thoughts on Richard White excerpts from Railroaded, Introduction

In the Richard White excerpts from Railroaded, Introduction, the main issue White brings up is the construction of the railroads at a time and place where it did not seem like it was really needed. Large amounts of resources and manpower was used to construct these railroads without much proven benefit at the time. Instead of bringing order and modernization, they brought political corruption, financial exploitation and environmental destruction. The railroad companies enjoyed some form of political protection due to the friends they made in the government. Through bribery and lobbying they secured subsidies and protection. Manipulating politics for financial gain. White argues that the social and environmental costs of the railroads outweighed their benefits. I agree with White that the railroads, although beneficial to some extent, were harmful and the timing was not right. 

Blog Post #3 Reflection on “Reflation and Relief”.

When FDR came into the presidency he essentially inherited a crumbling system. He immediately jumped into fixing it. He did not make promises of taking specific actions, instead he chose to try a variety of different methods to bring the country back up to speed and kept the public informed through a series of “fireside chats”. The FDR administration’s policies worked. Resulting in a growth of “at averaged rates of around 8 to 10 percent a year.” (Rauchway, 1)

Although some of FDR’s actions were constitutionally questionable, it got results and the support of the electorate and the people.
Rauchway goes into great detail about some of the policies describing them as susceptible to corruption. The problems were later addressed by restricting who could benefit from the programs based on citizenship, race/ ethnicity, etc.

By the end FDR’s policies were polarizing.
“When asked to name “the worst thing the Roosevelt Administration has done,” 23 percent of Americans picked “Relief and the WPA,” making it the most unpopular New Deal measure.” “The same poll found that, when asked to name “the greatest accomplishment of the Roosevelt administration,” 28 percent of Americans picked “Relief and the WPA,” making it the most popular New Deal Measure.” (Rauchway, 8)
According to Rauchway, although polarizing, the New Deal policies worked to improve America and had the goal of making “sure the Depression could not happen again.” (Rauchway, 8)

Overall, Chapter 4 gives an in depth look at the New Deal policies and how it majorly changed the way government operated in the United States. I agree with Rauchway that the New Deal certainly helped the country recover from the Depression. 

Final Blog Post

 

Throughout this course, I have learned so much about the history of American business, beginning with the early settlement of the Americas by European settlers through almost current-day. One book that I found especially interesting in this course, was our study of Rosenthal’s Accounting for Slavery. While I had studied slavery in past American history classes, this book truly added a new dimension to my understanding of the plantation system in the antebellum South. Specifically, the vast amount of charts and images Rosenthal includes in the book helped me truly understand the meticulous records plantation owners kept on their slaves’ productivity. Prior to this course, I never contemplated how the Southern plantation system may have been an early form of capitalist activity. Furthermore, I had never considered that the extensive network of managers on plantations may have set the stage for the managerial systems in factories during industrialization in the North. Studying these interpretations of the time period has made me really question my pre- existing notions about the emergence of capitalism in the United States. 

 

I think the importance of studying American history from a business or economic perspective is extensive, especially at Baruch College, which is predominantly a business school. Most students in Baruch College believe that the study of history may be irrelevant to a business school education. However, history is a unique field in that it can relate to just about any major or field of study. Any business student, or student in general, benefits from learning the background of their field of study. Learning American Business History enables a business student to have a more thorough understanding of their field.

Thoughts on American business history

What I’ve learned about the history of American business is that even when businesses fail there’s always a way to get back up and reopen or open a new business to keep the economy going. Sometimes you do need assistance from the government to overcome difficult times that no one can predict. American business is part of capitalism because it drives economic activities in and out of the country. One business can bring more business into the country and provided more jobs for Citizens, for example, the railroad provided jobs but it also helps the coal and steel industries. At the same time, the railroad connected the east to the west which help open new markets and commercial farming. That created new urban areas like Chicago and Kansas City. The value of studying American history from a business or economic perspective is that we can all benefit from the business strategies that use to work for that day and age but it does work now. Which need to be many rules and laws that protect workers for example the labor movement, that protect the interest of common workers. Also, knowing American history from a business’s perspective can help develop and improve business leaders and how they should go about leading their business that is fair. Moreover, what surprised me the most is that we still use some of the laws and rules that were made long ago like social security. I didn’t know social security has been around for this long. There is always room for improvement especially when we can learn from past failures in history about how business is run.

Taseen Mahmood 3

Governments could choose tax, spending, and monetary policies to produce full employment. In 1969, the unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent.
Economists became an honored breed. In 1965, Time magazine named Keynes its ‘‘Man of the Year.’’ The Nobel committee first awarded prizes in economics in 1969 largely because Keynesianism transformed gloomy science into a hard science that benefited mankind. ( Stein 4)
This excerpt from the text stood out to me because firstly it praises economists, which is my major so partly that. However, Stein also recognizes the shift of economics into the mainstream public consciousness which I think is a very interesting development. Many people around my age, born before 2003, grew up during the 2008 financial crisis which was a generation-defining moment in so many ways. I remember eating breakfast in the morning and overheating while my father was watching the news that “the housing mortgage crisis and recessions were due to mismanagement of the economy” At the time I had no idea what it meant but I knew that there was something called the economy and we were doing something bad to it. I bring up this anecdote because I think it reflects the modern continuation of the phenomenon Stein brings up. Stein here establishes the trend that begins in the 1960s but doesn’t fully mature until later. The emergence of economists into the public mainstream has downstream effects as they now have more say in the levers of government. I don’t intend to talk down to the median voter however, I think my earlier anecdote reflects the median voter’s view of the economy. A view of the economy as this abstract thing that when fiddled with enough when bad, will lead to good results. This view latter leads to reactionary voting that leads to presidents like Regan and more presently Biden.
This phenomenon Stein brings up allows for the rise of economists but also changes the debate economists are having. Because of Keynes, economics is becoming more prominent in government, however, at the same time, it standardizes it. The U.S after WWII was able to establish Keynesian economics in the postwar nations of Europe and Asia, which allowed it to become the economic orthodoxy of the western world.