Founding Corporate Power in Early National Philadelphia
Andrew Schocket
During its first heady decades, the United States promised to become a fully democratic society with unprecedented liberty and opportunity. Yet, as political rights spread, a rising elite gained control over the sources of prosperity by means of the institution that has since come to symbolize capitalist America—the corporation. In this study, Andrew M. Schocket analyzes the establishment, growth, and operations of both commercial and municipal corporations in the nation's premier city, Philadelphia.
From the 1780s through the 1820s, members of Philadelphia's privileged class formed corporations in order to consolidate their capital and political influence. By controlling regional transportation networks ... Read more
At the same time, corporations answered needs that private individuals or partnerships could not—and government, uncertain of its own authority, would not—supply. Resolving the apparent contradiction between the spread of political democracy and the consolidation of economic power, Schocket provocatively argues that corporations helped to generate the relatively diffuse prosperity of the early national period. Though controlled by the few, they offered services that allowed middle-class entrepreneurs to flourish. This mixed legacy has resulted in the continuing ambivalence toward U.S. corporations today.
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Reviews for Founding Corporate Power in Early National Philadelphia
The Journal of American History
This intelligent book considers a central issue ... Read more