Synopses & Reviews
This extraordinary text offers a proven combination of scholarship from an insightful economist and a renowned American historian. It recounts the development of capitalism and the age of machines through the voices of business leaders, working people, inventors, and an unusual cast of presidents, generals, and patriots. Unlike other books in the field of economic history, this text tells a story. While not ignoring statistics and percentages, this narrative focuses on the fact that America's economic transformation is an extraordinary drama--a drama that continues today.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 388-400) and index.
Table of Contents
1. Economic Transformation as a Theme of History. I. The Colonial Struggle: 1600 to the 1770s Out of the European Cradle. 2. The Colonization of America. 3. Setting the Economic Stage. II. An American Economy Takes Shape: The 1770s to 1870s. 4. The Declaration of Economic Independence. 5. Preparations for the Age of Manufacture. 6. The Structural Transformation. III. Industrialization Takes Command: The 1870s to 1929. 7. The Age of the Businessman. 8. The Technology of Industrialization. 9. From Trust to Antitrust. 10. Workers and Work. 11. Industrialization Rubs Off on Life. IV. From Laissez Faire to Mixed Economy: 1929 to Present. 12. The Great Depression. 13. The New Deal. 14. From Post-war Boom to Post-war Inflation. 15. The Conservative Era. 16. Contemporary America: Problems and Possibilities. 17. Epilogue: Looking Toward the Future.