Syllabus:
American Business History: History 363
Daniel Pope: 331 McKenzie Hall, 346-4015, dapope@uoregon.edu
Office Hours: Tues. 9:00-10:30 and Wed. 2:00-4:00 or by appointment
President Calvin Coolidge once said that the "chief business of the American people is business." That doesn't necessarily mean that the history of the American people is the history of American business, but it does suggest that we will be examining topics that are central to the American past. Also, since the modern business corporation is certainly a dominant institution in our lives, a historical perspective on it should be useful for those who want to understand contemporary American society.
This is a one-term course, designed for undergraduate business and pre-business majors as well as for students in History and other programs who want to get some historical perspective on American business. No prior classes in either history or business are assumed or required here, but such courses might prove relevant if you've taken them.
Books: I’ve ordered the following books at the UO
Bookstore. Used copies may be available there or elsewhere.
Glenn Porter, The Rise of Big Business
1860-1920. (I’ve ordered the third edition, published 2006. If you can save
a significant amount of money by getting the second edition, published 1992,
that’s OK. The first edition, published back in 1973, is ancient history by now
and should not be used.)
Thomas K. McCraw, American Business since 1920: How It Worked. (I’ve ordered the second edition, published 2009, but the first edition, published 2000 is also acceptable.)
Frederick W. Taylor, The Principles of Scientific Management. (This is also available online through Google Books, here, and another version here.) Some notes and questions on Taylor are posted here.
Nelson Lichtenstein, The Retail Revolution.
OPTIONAL: Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt. (This novel about an American businessman in the 1920s is for one of the short paper options. Look at the forthcoming description of the paper topic options before you decide whether to buy it.)
Requirements:
1. Participation in Blackboard discussion board: Instructions and first discussion forum posted here. Third and fourth discussion forums here. About 10% of course grade.
2. Midterm exam: Thursday, April 28. About 25% of course grade. MIDTERM ESSAY QUESTIONS AND EXAM INSTRUCTIONS HERE.
3. Short paper due at class time Tuesday, May 24. About 25% of course grade. INSTRUCTIONS AND OPTIONS HERE.
4. Final exam: Monday, June 6, 1:00-3:00 p.m. About 40% of
course grade. NEW: FINAL
EXAM INSTRUCTIONS AND ESSAY QUESTIONS ONLINE HERE
Class Sessions:
Note: This course will feature biographical lectures and videos--a “Tycoon of the Week” designed to introduce you to some of the most interesting figures in American business history and to raise the question of how much impact individuals have had on the course of historical change.
March 29: Introduction and Tycoon #1: Robert Keayne
March
31: Colonial Merchants and an (almost) Global Economy
By this date, read Benjamin Franklin, “The Way to Wealth,”
(1757); the first seven pages contain the document. The rest is a commentary
which is not required. Also a recent newspaper feature
on the Rhode Island slave trade.
April
5: Independence and the Constitution and Tycoon #2: John Jacob Astor
By this date, read James Madison, Federalist Paper 10.
(1787)
April
7: A Constitutional and Legal Infrastructure for Business Growth
By this date, read two excerpts from Alexander Hamilton, “Report on
Manufactures,” 1791. Excerpt
One
Excerpt
Two
April
12: The Legal “Release of Energy” and the Transportation Revolution
April
14: Early American Manufacturing and Tycoon #3: a video on P.T. Barnum
By this date, read Barnum, “The
Road to Riches”, chapter 9, pp.133-155 of his memoirs, Struggles and
Triumphs (1875). The link goes to the Google version of the book. Click on
the link to chapter 9 to go to page 133. Using the arrows at the top of pages,
you can move forward from there.
April 19: The Railroads as America’s First Big Business
April
21: Mass Production and Mass Distribution and Tycoon #4: Andrew
Carnegie
By this date, read Porter, The Rise of Big Business, chapters 1 and 2. Also
read Andrew Carnegie’s 1889 essay, “Wealth.”
Also, browse the online Sears,
Roebuck catalogue of 1897
April 26: Mergers, Trusts and the Economic Power of Big Business
April 28: MIDTERM EXAM
By the midterm, read Porter, The Rise of Big Business, chapter 3
(Bibliographical essay is not required); McCraw, American Business since
1920, Introduction and chapter 1.
May 3: Finance and Control of Big Business and Tycoon #5: J. Pierpont Morgan
May
5: Frederick W. Taylor and Scientific Management (You can think of Taylor
as a bonus tycoon.)
By this date, read Taylor, The Principles of Scientific Management (an
online version here),
and Thorstein Veblen, “On the Nature and
Uses of Sabotage” (chapter one of Veblen, The Engineers and the Price
System, 1921). Notes and Questions on Taylor and Scientific Management are here
May 10: Taylor and Later Theories of Management
May
12: Making a Consumer Society and Tycoon #6: Bruce Barton
By this date, read McCraw, American Business since 1920, chapters 2, 3
and 5 (chapter 4 is optional)
May 17: Women and People of Color in American Business and Tycoon #7: Madame C.J. Walker
May
19: Business and Government: Regulation, De-Regulation, Re-Regulation?
By this date, read McCraw, American Business since 1920, Prologue to
Part II, chapters 6 and 7 (chapter 8 is optional)
May 24: SHORT PAPER DUE: Finance Capitalism?
May
26: The World of Wal*Mart 
,
Part I and Tycoon(s) #8: George
Soros/Charles and David Koch
May
31: The World of Wal*Mart, Part II
By this date, read Lichtenstein, The Retail Revolution (chapters 5, 7
and 8 are optional but recommended). NEW: FINAL EXAM INSTRUCTIONS AND ESSAY QUESTIONS ONLINE HERE
June
2: The Future of Capitalism--The Vision of Joseph Schumpeter, a
Pessimistic Supporter
By this date, read McCraw, American Business since 1920, Epilogue and
brief excerpts from Joseph Schumpeter, to be posted.
Final Exam: Monday, June 6, 1:00-3:00