History of American Business - HIST 371 Resource Guide

One of the first industries to globalize, the automotive business provides a blueprint for other industries. Already highly competitive, car manufacturers who are not lean and at the cutting edge of cross-border integration face ruin.

Using Pittsburgh’s steel industry as a case study, this bold documentary explores supply-side economics and the trickle-down myth, challenging the assumption that private corporations can be trusted to make the investments upon which all Americans depend.

The Cars That Made America explores the epic stories behind the wheels and under the hoods of the machines we've steered around every turn on the road of modern history.
3 videos

This eight-part series celebrates the spirit of invention and progress in American industry. From ruthless business leaders who amassed great fortunes to the bitter struggles of the common laborer, each episode recounts the importance of business and commercial enterprises in the nation's rise to the globe's dominant economic power today.

What is it like to work in the mass media industries? This ten-part series examines the duties and responsibilities, the pressures, the day-to-day decisions, and the glamour that make up the lives of mass media professionals. 10-part series, 28 minutes each.

Covering 5,000 miles, passing through 13 countries and crossing some of the most dramatic landscapes on the planet, this is the fascinating story of the lucrative trade route which changed the course of civilization forever.

This episode of Biography spotlights philanthropic confectioner Milton Hershey, whose commitment to fairness, in an era of ruthless industrialists, led him and his candy empire to sweet success.

This episode of Biography profiles Henry Ford, one of America’s great innovators and arguably the most influential man of the 20th century.

Walt Disney built a media and entertainment company that stands as one of the most powerful on the planet, won more Academy Awards than anybody in history, created a cinematic art form, and invented a new kind of American vacation destination.

Scottish-born Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was an American industrialist who amassed a fortune in the steel industry then became a major philanthropist.

Shipping and railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) was a self-made multi-millionaire who became one of the wealthiest Americans of the 19th century.

One of the most powerful bankers of his era, J.P. (John Pierpont) Morgan (1837-1913) financed railroads and helped organize U.S. Steel, General Electric and other major corporations.

This black & white educational film is about the automobile industry trying to keep up with demand after WW2. This was made circa 1946 or 1947.
(George W. Mason in video briefly at 7 min into film.)