State and Economy in Industrial America, 1870--1940
ECON 254
Fall 2021 not offered
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This course considers the transformation of the political and economic institutions of the United States in the 70 years ending in 1940 and the revolution in political ideology that occurred alongside this transformation and helped bring it about. We begin by examining the growth of large corporations after 1870, the new techniques of management they called forth, and the antitrust movement that arose in response to them. We then turn to the many changes in American government brought by the Fourteenth Amendment, the granting of constitutional personality to business corporations, and the attempt of Progressives before World War I to analogize the administrative state to business firms and bring the newly developing techniques of management science to bear in politics and policy, an effort with profound effects on American life. Finally, the role played by war in these changes, the creation of the modern American economy in the 1920s, and the New Deal's attempt to adapt the nation's political and legal institutions to the economic and ideological realities of the 20th century are considered. Along the way, the course addresses a range of theoretical issues, including the contrast between markets and central planning as ways of organizing economic activity, the tension between the individual and the collective in complex societies, technocracy and social engineering, and the impact of war on economic and political institutions. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS ECON |
| Course Format: Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: ECON101 or ECON110 |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (ECON-MN)(ECON) |
Major Readings:
Ellis Hawley, THE GREAT WAR AND THE SEARCH FOR A MODERN ORDER
Ellis Hawley, THE NEW DEAL AND THE PROBLEM OF MONOPOLY
Frederick W. Taylor, THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT
Richard Adelstein, THE RISE OF PLANNING IN INDUSTRIAL AMERICA, 1865-1914
Readings will also include judicial opinions, scholarly articles, and book chapters.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Students will write three 2000-word essays on topics related to the readings, and will submit two questions drawn from the readings for class discussion in sixteen different class sessions. There are no examinations. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course is intended to be a seminar, a series of discussions guided by students' reactions to the readings, rather than a series of lectures given by the instructor. Class discussions will be guided by the questions students submit prior to each class session, and will assume familiarity with the readings for that session. Part of the final grade will be based on sustained participation in class discussion. |
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