Table Of ContentEncyclopedia of
american business history
V I
OLUME
CHARLES R. GEISST
Encyclopedia of American Business History
Copyright © 2006 by Charles R. Geisst
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Geisst, Charles R.
Encyclopedia of American business history / Charles R. Geisst.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8160-4350-7 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. United States—Commerce—History—
Encyclopedias. 2. Business enterprises—United States—History—Encyclopedias. 3. Indus-
tries—United States—History—Encyclopedias. I. Title.
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CONTENTS
VOLUME I
CONTRIBUTORS iv
LIST OF ENTRIES vi
INTRODUCTION ix
ENTRIES A–M 1
VOLUME II
ENTRIES N–Z 293
CHRONOLOGY 491
SELECTED PRIMARY DOCUMENTS 495
GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 565
INDEX 569
CONTRIBUTORS*
JAMESBARTH,Auburn University ROGERHOROWITZ,Hagley Museum and Library
JONATHANBEAN,Southern Illinois University HERBERTHOVENKAMP,University of Iowa College
MANSELG. BLACKFORD,Ohio State University of Law
HOWARDBODENHORN,Lafayette College LAWRENCEHUGGINS,Manhattan College
E. N. BRANDT,Michigan ROBERTJACKSON,State University of New York,
MARCELOBUCHELI,Stanford University Oneonta
MARTINCAMPBELL-KELLY,Warwick University, SUSANJOHNSON,Ohio State University
England IRVINGKATZ,Indiana University
ANNCARLOS,University of Colorado AUSTINK. KERR,Ohio State University
ROBERTJ. CHANDLER,Wells Fargo Historical LEEKORINS,University of Northern Colorado
Services PAULLAGASSE,Baltimore, Maryland
ALBERTCHURELLA,Ohio State University, Lima PAULJ. LEBLANC,La Roche College
DANIELC. CLARK,Oakland University TIMOTHYJ. LECAIN,Montana State University,
JAMESW. CORTADA,IBM Corporation Bozeman
MACEODAILY,University of Texas at El Paso FRANKLEWIS,Queens University, Canada
RENEDELAPEDRAJA,Canisius College JAMIELEWIS,Forest HistorySociety
JEANDERMINE,INSEAD Fountainbleau, France FIONAMACLACHLAN,Manhattan College
ALEXANDERJ. FIELD,Santa Clara University NIKKIMANDELL,University of Wisconsin,
WILLIAMFRASER,University of Florida Whitewater
JOHNFREDRIKSEN,independent scholar VICTORMATHESON,College of the Holy Cross
ANDREAGABOR,Baruch College AJAYK. MEHROTRA,University of Chicago
MARGARETA. GEISST,Budd, Larner, P.C., Short MARYMICHEL,Manhattan College
Hills, N.J. SHARONANNMURPHY,University of Virginia
DONALDG. GODFREY,Arizona State University MICHAELNAMORATO,University of Mississippi
LEEGRADY,Wisconsin Historical Society ROGEROLIEN,University of Texas at the Permian
H. ROGERGRANT,Clemson University Basin
JEFFREYE. GRELL,Leonard, Street & Deinard STEVEPEREZ,California State University,
PETERZ. GROSSMAN,Butler University Sacramento
WAYNEGROVE,Syracuse University RONNIEJ. PHILLIPS,Colorado State University
THOMASHARKINS,Duke University PAULH. RAKES,West Virginia University
PAULHARRISON,Brandeis University Institute of Technology
DIANAHENRIQUES,New York Times JONATHANREES,Colorado State University, Pueblo
JENNIFERHOLMES,University of Texas, Dallas PRISCILLAROBERTS,University of Hong Kong
*Articles not specifically credited to a contributor were written by Charles Geisst.
iv
Contributors v
PETERL. ROUSSEAU,Vanderbilt University CLAIRESTROM,North Dakota State University
JAMESM. RUBINSTEIN,Miami University of Ohio PETERTEMIN,Massachusetts Institute of
THOMASSADLER,Manhattan College Technology
MARTHASAUNDERS,University of West Florida STEVENTOPIK,University of California, Irvine
JULIANNSIVULKA,University of South Carolina GLENNUTTER,Lamar University
AMANDASMITH,Washington, D.C. JENNYWAHL,Carleton College
JEFFSMITH,Washington University in St. Louis DENNISB. WORTHEN,Lloyd Library and
PETERSPITZ,independent scholar Museum
THOMASSTANTON,Johns Hopkins University JEFFREYYOST,Charles Babbage Institute,
CHRISTOPHERSTERLING,George Washington University of Minnesota
University
LIST OF ENTRIES
advertising industry bucket shop credit cards
airline industry Buffett, Warren credit-rating agencies
airplane industry Carnegie, Andrew Dawes, Charles G.
American Express Company Carrier, Willis H. Debs, Eugene V.
American Federation of Labor cartel Deere, John
American Stock Exchange chain stores DepositoryInstitutions Act
American Telephone & Chase Manhattan Bank Depository Institutions
Telegraph Co. chemical industry Deregulation and Monetary
American Tobacco Co. Chicago Boardof Trade Control Act
antitrust Chrysler, Walter Percy deregulation
Astor, John Jacob Chrysler Corp. Dillon Read & Co.
automotive industry Cisco Corporation Disney,Walt
Babson, Roger Ward Citibank Dow Chemical Company
Baker, George F. Clark Dodge & Co. Dow Jones Industrial Average
Bank Holding Company Act Clayton Act Drew,Daniel
Banking Act of 1933 Coca-Cola Co. Drexel, Anthony J.
banknotes coffee industry Drexel Burnham Lambert
Bank of America Colgate, William Drucker,Peter
Bank of New York Colt Firearms Duer, William
Bank of the United States, The Columbia Broadcasting System Duke, James Buchanan
Bank of United States commerce clause DuPont de Nemours & Co.,
bankruptcy commercial banking E. I.
Baring Brothers commercial paper Durant, William Crapo
Barron, Clarence W. Commodity Futures Trading Eastern Airlines
Baruch, Bernard Mannes Commission Eastman, George
Bell, Alexander Graham Community Reinvestment Act Eaton, Cyrus
Belmont, August computer industry Eccles, Marriner S.
Belmont, August, II Conestoga wagon Edison, Thomas A.
Better Business Bureaus conglomerates Enron Corporation
Biddle, Nicholas consumer movement Erie Canal
Black-Scholes model Cooke, Jay Erie Railroad Company
Boeing Co. Cooper, Peter euro
Brandeis, Louis D. corporation Export-ImportBank of the
Bretton Woods system cotton industry United States
Brown Brothers Harriman crashes Farm Credit System
vi
List of Entries vii
farming Goodrich, Benjamin Franklin Lazard Freres
Federal Communications Gould, Jay Lee, Ivy L.
Commission government-sponsored Lehman Brothers
Federal Deposit Insurance enterprises Levittown
Corporation Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Lewis, John L.
Federal Home Loan Bank Co. Livingston, Robert R.
Board greenbacks Long-Term Capital Management
Federal National Mortgage Greenspan, Alan Lorillard & Company, P[ierre].
Association Hamilton, Alexander lotteries
Federal Reserve Harriman, Edward Henry lumber industry
Federal Trade Commission Harvard Business School Macy, Rowland H.
Field, Cyrus W. Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act Malcom Baldrige National
Field, Marshall Hill, James J. Quality Award
Financial Accounting holding company managerial capitalism
Standards Board Hudson’s Bay Company mass production
Financial Institutions Reform, Hughes, Howard, Jr. McCormick, Cyrus
Recovery, and Enforcement Iacocca, Lee McCulloch v. Maryland
Act income tax McFadden Act
Financial Services Industrial Revolution in the Meany, George
Modernization Act United States meat packing industry
Fisk, James, Jr. Insull, Samuel mergers
Flagler, Henry M. insurance industry Merrill, Charles
Forbes, Malcolm International Business Meyer, Eugene
Ford, Henry Machines military-industrial complex
Ford Motor Company International Harvester mining industry
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Company Morgan, John Pierpont
foreign exchange market Internet Morgan, John Pierpont, Jr.
foreign investment Interstate Branching Act Morgan, Junius Spencer
free agency Interstate Commerce Morgan Stanley & Co.
Frick, Henry Clay Commission Morris, Robert
Fulton, Robert Interstate Highway Act Morse, Samuel F. B.
futures markets investment banking motion picture industry
Gallatin, Albert Jobs, Stephen muckrakers
Gary, Elbert H. Johnson, Hugh Samuel multinational corporation
Gates, Bill junk bonds mutual funds
Geneen, Harold S. J. Walter Thompson Nader,Ralph
General Electric Co. Kaiser, Henry J. National Association of
Generally Accepted Kennedy, Joseph Patrick Securities Dealers
Accounting Principles Keynes, John Maynard National Bank Act
General Motors Corp. Kidder Peabody & Co. National Labor Relations Act
Getty, J. Paul K-Mart National Negro Business
Girard, Stephen Kuhn Loeb & Co. League
Goldman Sachs & Co. laissez-faire National Recovery
gold standard Lamont, Thomas W. Administration
Gompers, Samuel Land, Edwin H. New Deal
viii List of Entries
newspaper industry Salomon Brothers Time Warner
New York Stock Exchange Sarbanes-Oxley Act Treasury bonds
Norris, George W. Sarnoff, David Turner, Ted
North American Free Trade savings and loans turnpikes
Agreement Schiff, Jacob typewriter
office machines Schwab, Charles M. Union Pacific Railroad
options markets Scott, Thomas A. United Automobile Workers
Owens, Michael J. Sears, Roebuck & Co. United Fruit Company
Panama Canal Securities Act of 1933 United Mine Workers of
Pan American Airways Securities Exchange Act of America
patents and trademarks 1934 U.S. Steel Corp.
Penney & Co., J.C. Seligman & Co., J. & W. utilities
pension funds Sherman Act Vail, Theodore N.
petroleum industry shipbuilding industry Vanderbilt, Cornelius
pharmaceutical industry shipping industry Veblen, Thorstein
Phillips curve Siebert, Muriel Volcker,Paul
Ponzi, Charles Singer Sewing Co. Volstead Act
predatory pricing skyscrapers wage and price controls
Public Utility Holding slavery Walton, Sam
Company Act Sloan, Alfred Wanamaker, John
Public Works Administration Small Business Administration Ward, Aaron Montgomery
Pullman, George M. sports industry Watson, Thomas A.
Racketeer Influenced and Staggers Rail Act Watson, Thomas J.
Corrupt Organizations Act steel industry Weill, Sanford
Radio Corporation of America Stetson, John B. Welch, John F.
radio industry Stevens, John Wells Fargo
railroads Stewart, Martha Western Union Telegraph Co.
Raskob, John J. stock markets Westinghouse, George, Jr.
recession Strong, Benjamin Weyerhaeuser, Frederick
Reconstruction Finance Corp. Sutter’s Mill Wharton School
regional stock exchanges swap market Whitney, Eli
regulation Taft-Hartley Act Whitney, Richard
Resolution Trust Corporation tariffs Winfrey, Oprah
Reuther, Walter P. Tax Reform Act women in American business
Revson, Charles Taylor, Frederick Winslow Woolworth, Frank Winfield
robber barons telecommunications industry Works Progress
Robinson-Patman Act telegraph Administration
Rockefeller, John D. television industry WorldCom
Rothschild, House of Tennessee Valley Authority yankee peddlers
rubber industry ticker tape Young, Owen D.
INTRODUCTION
Over the last 15 years, business history has Some of the more recent material may stand the
exploded as a discipline, while much business test of time, while other recent entries may dis-
history also was made during the boom economy appear in the future. Not all material once
of the 1990s. As a result, the need for a business thought relevant has weathered the decades and
history encyclopedia has become more impor- centuries well.
tant as a means of chronicling these events and This encyclopedia’s entries begin with the
showing their antecedents, stretching back to period after American independence. Beginning
American independence. a historical timeline is always difficult, but the
The Encyclopedia of American Business His- founding of the Bank of New York and the New
toryis the first serious attempt in several decades York Stock Exchange is a convenient general
to describe the major business events, institu- time at which to start. A few entries precede this
tions, and individuals in American history. Read- period, but the overwhelming majority of entries
ers will find entries crossing all of the traditional date from the late 18th century. Encyclopedia
categories—descriptions of individuals, events, entries traditionally are narrow in their scope
companies, legislation, and movements that except for the entries on trends or time periods.
have had a significant impact on American his- In order to allow readers to get a broader sense
tory and business life. Each entry is accompa- of their importance, each entry is cross-refer-
nied by a short bibliography that will enable the enced to other entries of related importance so
reader to pursue the topic further. They refer- that by reading them together, readers can get a
ence the best known or most general books or better sense of their importance and effects on
articles and have been chosen as the next logical business life. A timeline has also been included
place for a reader to look up information. But in so that the major events in business history are
some cases, little information has been written presented visually.
about the entries to date, although they have The vast majority of these entries center
been included because of their importance. A around individuals, companies, laws, and trends
more general bibliography is included at the end in business. In a few cases, readers will find
of the volume. entries that arenot necessarily American but are
Because much of business history is still in universally known and well-established tools
the making, we have tried to make the entries in used in business practice. Their effect on Ameri-
this volume as up-to-date as possible. In some can business and finance is indisputable, and
cases, this required arbitrary decisions about they have been included in the list of entries.
what material was included and excluded. The
* * *
guiding principle used here was to include mate-
rial that was developed enough to allow the Traditionally,much of business history has been
reader to pursue the subject in greater detail. dominated by finance, and this current volume
ix
Description:This two-volume, A-to-Z encyclopedia provides detailed coverage of America's business history, from the Hudson fur trade to the Internet. More than 400 lively, informative entries profile corporate titans and tycoons, Wall Street wizards, industry leaders, and major events and institutions of Americ