American history of business 1865-present Research Paper

American history of business 1865-present - Research Paper Example Each American year in the historical era is documented besides its prevailing economic, social or political phenomenon, thus these classifications are done in terms of units. The units are mainly clusters of years, each of which major transitions were taking place in all realms. However, each cluster of years since 1865 was marked by a contentious issue that required immediate response from the concerned groups (Olson, 2007). These units are investigated in regards to the following divisions: unit 1 (1865-1876) Industrial Revolution, railroads, development of corporations, finance, communication, labor, and introduction of trusts. Unit two (1877-1920) explains about the Impact of Roosevelt's "New Nationalism" vs. Wilson's "New Freedom" and welfare capitalism. Unit 3 (1921-1945) views Technology, consumer spending, introduction of the automobile, and the Great Depression. Unit 4 (1946-1976) looks into Postwar prosperity, organized labor, and the Taft-Hartley Act, while unit 5 (1976-pr esent) is regarded in terms of NAFTA, computer age, and the economic downturn in American business. The major players in regards to the transformations that were taking place in America included the political leaders, immigrated people from other continents, laborers and activists dominating various economic, political, and social realms (Olson, 2007). The discussion in this paper is aimed at the establishment of the history of American business since 1865 and up to the present date. The various units will be carefully examined to enhance the comprehension of the business issue in the aforementioned years. Unit 1 (1865-1876) In unit one, business in America consisted of Industrial Revolution, railroads, development of corporations, finance, communication, labor, and introduction of trusts. There was rapid development in America in this period, rendering America become a leading industrial continent in the global context. The industrial revolution was facilitated by the abundance of natural resources that were exploited to yield useful industrial products. Adequate land was also available that could be utilized in the production of agricultural raw materials, serving as industrial raw materials in the set up industries. The prior and prevailing construction of railroads provided an ample ground for the required industrialization, since the industrialists could penetrate to the deepest parts in search for industrial materials. Availability of adequate labor acted as a long-term rationale to the fast-paced industrial revolution that took place in America. The period was also significant in seeing the Asians and Mexicans rapidly immigrate to America in search for labor, thus the industrializing America gained a favorable ground for the required activities. The ideal presence of rivers that were navigable provided a ground for the cheap extraction of industrial energy as other related items of requirement. The Americans had also enough capital, which served as the major contributing factor to the aspect of industrialization (Ripper, 2008). The development of railroads was rapidly taking place in this period in a bid to meet the immediate needs for transport and industrial increment. The more the railroads continued to expand, the more the industrial expansions took place in America. The opening of these railroads in all places in America saw the creation of more farms, markets, towns in areas that