The History of American Business and Economics

Intro to History of Business

I. Business in the Beginning: From Jamestown to New Nation (1606 – 1790)

II. Business in America from the First Stock Markets to End of Civil War (late 1700s to 1865)

III. The Gilded Age and the Rise of Industrial America (1865-1900)

  • Overview
  • Reconstruction
  • Industrialization and Manufacturing
  • The Railroad Boom
  • Oil and Steel
  • The House of Big Banks
  • People: Titans, Robber Barons, Leaders and Inventors
  • Labor Unions and Workers Rights
  • Companies
  • Communication: Telegraph and the Printed Word
  • Lighting and Electrification of America
  • Advertising
  • Stock Markets
  • Coming to America: Immigration & Economics
  • Impactful Business Laws of the Era
  • Depressions and Recessions
  • << Timelines & Charts >>

IV. A Period of Progress, Cars, Crashes and War (1900-1929)

  • Overview
  • The Progressive Era 1897 to 1920
  • The Automobile
  • The Assembly Line
  • Electrification of America
  • The Roaring 20s
  • Great Stock Market Crash of 1929
  • Business and WWI
  • People: Leaders and Inventors
  • Companies
  • Communication & Media: Telephone, Radio, Movies, Records and the Printed Word
  • Consumer Brands
  • Advertising
  • Impactful Business Laws of the Era (prohibition, anti-monopoly, etc.)
  • << Timelines & Charts >>

V. Rise to the Occassion: Depression, Recovery & WWII (1929-1945)

  • Overview
  • Great Stock Market Crash of 1929
  • The Great Depression
  • The New Deal
  • Business and WWII
  • People: Leaders and Inventors
  • Companies
  • Communication & Media: Telephone, Radio, Movies, Records and the Printed Word
  • Consumer Brands
  • Advertising
  • Impactful Business Laws of the Era
  • << Timelines & Charts >>

VI. Growth in America: Post-War, 1950s, 1960s

  • Overview
  • Post-War Economic Growth
  • The Birth of Babyboomers
  • The Advent of the Suburbs
  • Planes, Trains and Automobiles
  • People
  • Companies
  • The Advent of Television
  • Communication & Media: Telephone, TV, Radio, Movies, Records/Tapes and the Printed Word
  • First Computers in the Workplace: Mainframes
  • Consumer Brands
  • The Rise of Consumerism and Leisure
  • Advertising
  • Stock Markets
  • A Global Economy
  • Impactful Business Laws of the Era
  • << Timelines & Charts >>

VII. The ’70s and ’80s

  • Overview
  • Economic Booms and Busts
  • 1973-1975 Recession
  • Big Business and Big Finance
  • Oil Crisis
  • Big American Cars vs Little Import Cars
  • People: Leaders, Early Tech, Tycoons, and Not-so-good Guys
  • Computers, Electronic and Digital Equipment in the Workplace
  • Early Connected Workplaces (Email, Backend Services, Closed Internet)
  • A Global Economy
  • Consumer Brands
  • Companies
  • Advertising
  • Stock Markets
  • Communication & Media: Telephone, TV, Radio, Movies, Records/Tapes and the Printed Word
  • Impactful Business Laws of the Era
  • Business Models, Strategies, Buzz Words and Paradigms of the Era
  • << Timelines & Charts >>

VIII. A Period of Dot-coms, Y2K, Sub-Prime, Economic Ups & Downs (1990-2010)

  • Overview
  • The Rise of the Internet: Connected Business and Economy
  • Economic Booms and Busts (dot-com bubble, subprime, etc.)
  • Y2K
  • Subprime Mortgage Crisis & The Great Recession
  • People: Leaders, Tech Giants & Founders, Innovators and Not-so-good Guys
  • Companies
  • Consumer Brands
  • Advertising
  • Stock Markets
  • Communication & Media: Internet, Mobile, Telephone, TV, Digital Storage, Streaming
  • Impactful Business Laws of the Era
  • Business Models, Strategies, Buzz Words and Paradigms of the Era
  • << Timelines & Charts >>

IX. Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow: Mobile Economy, FinTech, Covid, Remote, Crypto, AI, What’s Next (2010-2030)

  • Overview
  • Economic Booms and Busts
  • Crypto
  • FinTech
  • Metaverse
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Covid-19
  • Remote Work
  • People: Leaders, Tech Giants & Founders, Innovators and Not-so-good Guys
  • Companies
  • Consumer Brands
  • Advertising
  • Stock Markets
  • Communication & Media: Internet, Mobile, Telephone, TV, Digital Storage, Streaming, AI
  • Impactful Business Laws of the Era
  • Business Models & Strategies of the Era
  • << Timelines & Charts >>

X. Other