American Business History

Catalog description

This course surveys the history of private businesses in the US from the Revolution to the twenty-first century. In very important ways, the history of the US is the history of American businesses. These entities, whether shops, plantations, partnerships, or corporations, had a massive impact on their eras and, in turn, reflected those eras. Issues covered include slavery, immigrants, labor, law, technology, racism, sexism, nativism, and prejudice. Specifically, this course provides an introduction to this important crossover between business and the humanities through case histories.