Tony notes that this course is titled Business History but it is very

similar to a standard American Economic History course.

Department of Economics Professor O'Brien

Lehigh University Spring 1996

Economics 331

The Business History of the United States

Office: 307 Rauch Business Center

Office Hours: W,F 1:30-3:00 and by appointment

Required Text:

Gary M. Walton and Hugh Rockoff, History of the American Economy, 7th edition.

Recommended Text:

Donald N. McCloskey, ed., Second Thoughts: Myths and Morals of U.S. Economic

History

Additional readings may also be distributed in class.

Grading: There will be three papers, of three to five pages each, due at

the beginning of class on the following days:

Paper 1 -- February 23

Papers 2 and 3 -- May 6 (last day of class)

Each paper will count for 15 percent of the course grade. There will be a

midterm rm on March 4 that will count for 20 percent and a comprehensive

final that will count for 35 percent. Effort and class attendance may

also be taken into account in borderline cases.

Topic Readings

The Colonial Economy Chs. 2-6

The Confederation and Early

Constitutional Periods Chs. 7;Ch. 8,pp. 154-62

The Transportation Revolution Ch. 9

Antebellum Manufacturing Ch. 10

Antebellum Agriculture Ch. 8, pp. 162-70

The Economics of Slavery Ch. 13

The Economic Impact of

the Civil War Ch. 14

The Transcontinental Railroads: The First

Big Businesses Ch. 16

Post-Civil War Agriculture and

the Farm Revolt Ch. 15

Immigration, Urbanization, and

Public Health

The Rise of National Labor Unions Ch. 18

The Great Merger Wave and the Rise

of the Modern Corporation Ch. 17

World War I and the 1920s Chs. 21-22

The Great Depression and

the New Deal Chs. 23-24

World War II and the Growth

of Big Government Chs. 25-26

The Decline in Manufacturing and the

Rise of the Service Economy Ch. 29

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------p> ------------------------------------

Paper Assignments

Three papers, of three to five pages each, are due at the beginning

of class s on the dates given on the first page. I have given you very

wide latitude in choosing your topics. There are three different types of

topics you can choose. You must choose at least two different types of

topics.

Type 1

Choose one of the chapters in McCloskey's Second Thoughts book and write a

paper evaluating the argument made. You may agree or disagree with the

author's posit ion, but your discussion must be based on a critical

evaluation of the author's argument in light of your own reading on the

subject. You must have consulted at least three article s or books on the

subject.

Type 2

Papers of this type must take the form of an answer to any one of the following

questions. Again, you must have consulted at least three articles or

books on the subject.

1. Choose one of the original thirteen colonies and discuss the structure

of its economy on the eve of the American Revolution. Indicate which

types of businesses were most t successful in this colony and discuss any

particular economic advantages or disadvantages the colony may have had.

2. Is there an economic explanation for the American Revolution?

3. Why were mechanical reapers not adopted more quickly on northern farms

before the Civil War?

4. Did the demise of the Second Bank of the United States have an

important impact on the U.S. economy?

5. Do you believe that Fogel and Engerman are correct that many slaves

possessed something like the "Protestant work ethic?" Discuss the

evidence presented on t his point by Fogel and Engerman and their critics.

6. If there had been no railroads, would the U.S. economy have grown

significantly more slowly during the 19th Century?

7. If there had been no Civil War, would the U.S. economy have grown

significantly more slowly during the 19th Century?

8. To what extent did market forces work to offset the economic effects

of racial prejudice in the late-19th Century?

9. How important was the stock market crash of October 1929 in explaining

the Great Depression?

10. Discuss the policies of the Federal Reserve during the 1930's. In

particular discuss whether there would have been a Great Depression if the

Federal Reserve had made no policy errors during those years.

11. How effective was the New Deal?

12. Why did it take so long for the South to rise again economically

after the Civil War? How has the South become the fastest growing region

in the U.S. since World War II?

13. Mass production techniques were seen by many people as the key to the

rise of the U.S. to industrial supremacy. Why then have traditional mass

production techniques come in for so much criticism in recent years?

Type 3

Choose one of the following persons and write a paper discussing his or

her contribution to the American economy. While you may include a brief

biographical sketch of the person, your paper should focus on the person's

contribution. Persons other than those listed here may be acceptable

subjects, but check with me before you begin writing. Once again , you

must have consulted at least three articles or books on the person.

Andrew Carnegie (iron and steel)

James Buchanan Duke (tobacco)

George Eastman (cameras)

Henry Ford (autos)

Samuel Gompers (labor leader)

E.H. Harriman (railroad financier)

Steven Jobs (computers)

Cyrus McCormick (agricultural implements)

J.P. Morgan (banking)

Ralph Nader (consumer advocate)

Frances Perkins (civil servant)

Henry Poor (market information)

George Pullman (railroad sleeping cars)

A. Phillip Randolph (black labor leader)

John D. Rockefeller (oil)

Walter Reuther (labor leader auto industry)

Alfred Sloan (autos)

Mary Switzer (civil servant)

Frederick Taylor (scientific management)

William Vanderbilt (railroads)

Sam Walton (retailer)

Thomas J. Watson (business machines)

Guidelines

1. Each paper must make use of at least three sources (not including the

required textbook or the lectures). The Walton and Rockoff textbook

provides many references that you will find useful.

2. The Business Writing Clinic (located on the third floor of the Rauch

Business Center) is available to provide help at any stage of writing

your papers.

3. Your papers should be integrated discussions of your topic. That is,

you should try to write essays and not collections of loosely connected

paragraphs.

4. It is very important that the paper be grammatically correct and

contain no misspellings. It should be typed and legible. (These

considerations will be taken into account in determining the paper

grade.)

5. The paper should conform to the usual guidelines for research papers. In

particular:

a. The source of every fact that is not common knowledge must be given either

in a footnote or in parenthesis.

b. Any sentences or parts of sentences reproduced from one of your sources must

be in quotation marks and the source must be acknowledged (not to do

this is plagiarism).

c. A bibliography, giving the full citation to each source must come at the end

of the paper.

8. Put your arguments in your own words. Slightly rewritten passages from your

sources are not acceptable. Avoid using jargon.

Tony

************************************************************************

Anthony Patrick O'Brien (610) 758-3442

Department of Economics (610) 758-6762 fax

Lehigh University ao01@lehigh.edu

621 Taylor Street

Bethlehem, PA 18015-3117

************************************************************************