History of American Business: A Baruch College Blog

When I was thinking of “History of Business Enterprise” I was expecting a class completely focused on the historic figures who crafted the policies of the American economy. As an International Student here in the US, I didn’t have a lot of knowledge on the history of capitalism in America and I was assuming it would be heavy on the dates and processes and changes. But this class was more than that.

I had the opportunity to learn how power was gained, used and transferred in the American business enterprise, how Slavery played a big role in shaping capitalism, and even how different colonies in different areas in the United States harvested different goods, from crops to animal fur. Also, how since the beginning of America, the rich kept getting richer, and poor got poorer, which is still prevalent in today’s society. It was also interesting to learn about the introduction of technology in the United States and how it influenced and brought about a whole new era in American Economy and Business.

This course provided good insight in seeing American History from an economic perspective. I’ve learnt the different policies they had at different times in history and the challenges and solutions that came about as the United States rose to become a global economic powerhouse. I believe it is important to learn about the History of America from a Business and Economic perspective as it helps one understand why America is the way it is now, and how it came to be. Decisions made by business leaders, government leaders, and people at the time play a significant role in shaping the US to what it is today, and this can help us make sense of policies and laws set today, and the ones to come.

Over the course of the semester, I learned how trade really helped develop the economy and jump started the business industry in the United States. Different regions of the colonies had their own strengths. For example: The South grew cotton and tobacco, whereas, the North had oil and boats. The Colonies traded with each other to spread goods that other colonies had a harder time getting. I never really thought too much into how this played into the economy because I always thought of this as a form of survival and helping each other survive. But, trade definitely played a big part into the economy and start of the business industry.

I enjoyed my time in this class during the semester. This was my second history course taken at Baruch College. My first history class did not go as in-depth on certain time periods as much as this class has. I had no idea how the United States economic system functioned right after the United States gained their independence. Learning about how people gained power during this time period was fascinating to me. I also learned more about capitalism in this class. I learned how the concept of capitalism was used throughout history. Slavery can be viewed as a form of capitalism due to the amount of products made by slaves. These products would make the slave owners extremely wealthy.

Another thing I enjoyed about this class was the readings. These readings gave me a better understanding on what was going on during certain time periods. The chapter “Reflation and Relief” by Eric Rauchway went into great depth on the new deal. I did know that the new deal helped get the United States out of the Great Depression, but I didn’t know how. This chapter goes into great detail about the banks and all the programs that were made to help citizens get jobs. I also enjoyed reading Richard White’s “Railroaded: Creative Destruction”. I enjoyed this reading because it talks about the negative effects that innovations can have. The creation of railroads were great for transportation, however it lead to several negatives such as the overhunting of animals. I found this reading interesting because major innovations are mainly talked about in a positive way. This reading talked about the negative effects the railroads have had.

In conclusion I learned a lot during this semester. This course talked about time periods I was interested in such as The American Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. Learning about how economics and business has changed throughout history was interesting. The readings for this course were also enjoyable. They provided more in-depth analysis on what was going on during a specific time period.

Over the course of this semester, I learned a lot of new things about the history of American business, industry, and capitalism. The aspects of this history that were entirely new to me were topics about how enslaved people were managed on plantations. In previous classes that I took about American history, we were only taught about slaves being sold to plantation owners from Africa to work on large plantations. Nothing about how there was a whole system to manage these plantations. Furthermore, I didn’t know that slavery had connections with capitalism prior to taking this course. This is interesting because I knew that plantation owners preferred slave labor since they were long-lasting compared to indentured servants who would be free after their contract ends. However, I never went to think about the connection between the two and how it makes sense that plantation slavery is related to capitalism because the plantation owners force the slaves to work in harsh environments to generate a profit for themselves. 

I think the value of studying American history from a business or economic history perspective is so that we are able to evaluate the decisions made at the time. For example, the New Deal receives a lot of criticism from the historical revisionist. However, when we look at the time period which was during the great depression it makes sense that the New Deal’s legislation has been effective in helping the economy recover. Although, revisionists can come up with many other ways that the American economy could recover faster. None can be sure since it is only an idea. Furthermore, studying American history from a business or economic history perspective like studying any other type of history is to learn what was effective in the past and what can be applied to the present. Also, learn from what has failed in the past and why and what caused the idea to fail. Then see if there’s any way the idea could be fixed so that it can work.

This course brought a new experience in business history in America. I learn the different aspect and method in America economy to develop how America is today. For example, the book I read for Friedman shows how American was improving after the war and the development of firearms and other uses for oil. In Rosenthal reading, it shows me the methods they use for practicing planation and keeping their enslave individuals in place. For the reading on Stein, she talks about the how the economy was back in 1970s.

In class, I learned the different policy in place for different time periods and the issues within the economy that was on the rise. I learn that the market revolution was one of the key roles in the economy as everything was kind of based on it. During class, we talked about early development of acts and policies in political economy in America. Furthermore, the switching of America being Industrial to more technological. How the president policies effects individuals for long term.

The rise in technology in America in the 1980s, as it was moving towards technology and marketing field. These was important as I learn the different issues that arose from past mistake that America has done. Taking this class has taught more knowledge on the effects of these consequence of what America has done and how America changed from it.

In the past few months, I have gained further insight into what the American business looked like at the start of the nation and how it revolutionized the business today. Although I had already collected the knoledge of the topics taught in class from my previous classes, what I enjoyed particularly in this class was that i was able to explore more on some of my favorite time periods and I was able to connect the dots of the knowledge I had from my macroeconomics class and my Black history class. We start by learning about slavery and its contribution to early capitalism in the United States. Throughout each period, we continue to redefine what capitalism means and how it is interpreted in different periods. Since the south depended on slavery for cash crops, the north was expanding Indsutrilization and creating revolutionary machinery that eventually gave them an upper hand during the civil war. Right after the civil war, the south experienced the reconstruction era and the start of the gilded age came right after. During the gilded age, we can see the life of both the super-rich and the super poor. While we have railroads millionaires and real estate moguls on the rise, workers working in the manufacturing factories start to experience the harsh conditions and the unfair benefits received by employers. Jumping forward a couple of years later we then explore the roaring twenties. A time when the nation felt revived after going through a war. I believe that without the great depression and the great market crash the new deal created by FDR wouldn’t have happened. To this day we are still able to receive the benefits that the new deal had offered.
What I have noticed and found surprising was that after every obstacle the nation experiences such as a market fall or a war, the country is pushed in a different direction and lifted economically. . After WW1 the roaring 20s began, after the great depression the start of ww2 began which brought more jobs. After WW2 the era of consumption and consumer culture began. Learning more about the history of business and economics is important for one to know because we are learning about past mistakes and important events that outlined the decisions made today at the government level and in our everyday life. This class gave me the resources and the knowledge to understand more about business history. A part of history I didn’t further look into until taking this class.

A Look Back Down Memory Lane

This class has been an eye-opening experience because so many hidden gems in history have gotten little exposure; for example, the book Accounting for Slavery by Catlin Rosenthal exposed the precise records that enslavers kept to ensure profits. The business end of slavery was not as dramatic as the image of wealthy southern planters living the plush life while suffering enslaved people was more real and dangerous in many ways us because it took the human factor out of it.  So if you had to beat an enslaved person to get more production out of him so be it. It did not matter because they were to equivalent the same as livestock.

The article Wealth and Power in the Early let us know that the ideals of the American Revolutionary war were not always put into practice when it came to our own people. This looks at post-war America in1776 and its effort to form a government.  It highlights the glaring differences in policy-making between the rich and poor. For example, the only person that should be able to vote or hold office were the property owners.  This alone stinks of class supremacy. There were special deals on land and loans only for the rich. The typical person argued and protested against it.  One of the most noted was Shay’s rebellion, but it did not change anything.

The Entrepreneur and the Wage Earner this chapter was another class battle and, t pitted the manufacturing business against the working man. Manufacturing grew in the 1860s. The railroad, telegraph, and steamships are products of that growth. Of course, slavery in the south eliminated any labor issues in that region. However, a good bulk of manufacturing was happening in the north in textile mills and manufacturing factories.  The manufacturers were large companies that expanded nationwide. They exploited workers for profit. The wage-earners hated the low pay and long working hours. The morale was so intense that they compared themselves to southern enslaved people. This, in my opinion, was an exaggeration.

What amazed about the Great Depression was how great the roaring twenties were.  America felt invincible. , Having bottom drop out showed how ill-prepared the country was under this economic disaster. President Wilson’s hands-off policy did not solve the problem. It did not help quick enough to soothe the masses. When President Roosevelt got elected, he promised action, and the country got it in the form of the New Deal.  New Deal was extraordinary because the federal government went to work for the people.  Many New Deal programs remain today. Even as popular as it was, it had a lot of resistance. These feelings gave way to the conservative movement. These values are still etched in our political fabric. Roosevelt was so frustrated he considered stacking the Supreme Court. Even today the President has had that suggestion dropped at his feet.

In closing, slavery helped jump-start America back in 1619 and helped when cotton was king in the 1860s. When the south lost its mind to thinking that prosperity could be based on human bondage and seceded from the union, let us not forget that the south was not the only region that profited from slavery. Cotton from the south kept the textile mills humming in the North and Great Britain.  America has always had class issues. This course exposed a great deal of information glossed over in the history books. This is crucial when the conservative states claim that telling the truth will make children ashamed of their heritage. History is for learning about the past, so we don’t repeat the same mistakes. It enriches our knowledge of ourselves and gives directions for the future. Taking this History class has accomplished this goal.

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.

When I first walked into class, I was expecting to delve deep into the specific macroeconomic policy positions taken by different figures and their effects on specific markets as if the class was just another macroeconomic lecture. Instead, I learned something different but just as valuable, and that is the history of American business over time told from multiple perspectives. I had learned about the period of American history that was largely laissez-faire but not about how capitalism may have helped facilitate early 19th-century slavery in America. The different definitions of capitalism and the ambiguity surrounding them challenged my initial perceptions and helped me improve my understanding of what capitalism is, especially as it was instituted in America. Hearing differing views on business history and comparing them to my own helped me develop my own views on American Business history as well as learn more about it in general.

The surprising aspect of this course for me was the overall evolution of business in America, and how different socio-economic policies changed the business landscape. Even the short period from 1860 to 1880 saw significant changes to business operation and power along with recessions I had not previously heard of. Economics is interwoven in the history of every nation, but America’s long-standing focus on building oneself from the ground up, whether feasible or not, is heavily tied to both economics and American business history. To have a full understanding or as much as a person can of American history, analyzing the history of business in America is important and helps shape your overall view of American history.

For the 1970s through 1980s, I can’t say that I’m very familiar with this time period partially due to not liking this time period. I personally think that getting to where we are now is much more interesting. Maybe the reason that is the case is because at this point in history the world has how I would say settled down after the world got smaller. Reading Judith Stein’s “Pivotal Decade” didn’t really change my stance. 

 

The world at some point seems so much smaller now where everything affects everyone, which is both good and bad. For America, we can see how food is affected where prices can change drastically depending on whether or not India’s harvests were well. It seems like back then, such things didn’t have much of an effect as they do now simply due to nations being closed off and keeping to themselves. 

 

In the 1970s, we are now seeing how much Roosevelt’s New Deal has had an effect on the American government. We can see the groundwork being laid out in Eric Rauchway’s work, “Great Depression and the New Deal”. Regardless of which side the government decides to choose, Republican or Democrat, the government has a much more involved role to play in America. We see this with how Nixon and his administration constantly discuss what to do about product prices like oil and food as they change due to supply and demand both domestically and foreginly. I think that is probably one of the more noteworthy things to come out of the Roosevelt administration.