Who and What Ideas Advanced Early American Capitalism
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Published February 20, 2022
Updated February 26, 2022 |
In 1916, Ida M. Tarbell in "New Ideals in Business" wrote the following that supports A. W. Shaw's premise in this wonderful article of his from "System: The Magazine of Business." In this article Mr. Shaw and his peers looked back on a quarter of a century of change in American Capitalism.
Here is Miss Tarbell's perspective on one change she saw:
Here is Miss Tarbell's perspective on one change she saw:
“We know fairly well what [the old-school] employer preaches and practices. His concern is with the machinery of business, not with the human beings who operate that machinery. They must look out for themselves. If they contract occupational diseases, it is their lookout. If they are hurt, it is also their lookout. If the hours are long and the wages low, they are free to leave. If they put in suggestions which help the business but not them that is their bad luck. Briefly his creed is ‘Humanity has nothing to do with business.’
“The employer of the new school disputes every point of the old creed. Wherever you find this new executive you find him enormously interested in the human material. … We have in the country a new type of management, taking upon its shoulders the burden of industrial unrest, injustice and inefficiency; this school believes that it sees the road out, and that it is willing to give the best of itself in opening the road.”
What and Who Advanced Capitalism in the Early 20th Century?
- A History Lesson in Early American Business Leadership
- An Inquiry of Early 20th Century American Industrialists by A. W. Shaw
- What Contributions Most Affected American Capitalism from 1900 to 1925?
- Who Made the Greatest Contributions to American Business Development?
A History Lesson in Early American Business Leadership
When I asked an individual close to me what he thought were the greatest positive contributors to business in our country’s early twentieth century, he thought for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders.
So, I read the following insights of the top industrialists of the day to him.
He then commented: “You’re kidding, right?”
So, I read the following insights of the top industrialists of the day to him.
He then commented: “You’re kidding, right?”
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Have we lost touch with our country’s corporate history? Are we failing to understand and assimilate capitalism’s positive aspects as its early founders guided our fledgling economy through its early growing pains? Are we carrying around within us underlying, pervasive and internalized biases—many of which are negative.
Finally, why do we find it easy to articulate who and what built our political system, but difficult to identify the who and the what that forged democracy’s economic foundation? |
The following is a sample of what industrialists believed were the greatest evolutionary changes they experienced in the first quarter of the twentieth century: Popular business ideals which improved their companies and solidified our economy:
“We have learned that a single dollar earned with goodwill is more valuable than many dollars earned which bring with them hatred, jealousy and ill feelings, and that any transaction which does not benefit both buyer and seller benefits neither. We have learned to apply the Golden Rule in everyday business relationships, to hold ourselves to a higher standard of business ethics, to recognize the buyer’s rights and the spirit of service—a responsibility to the customer, and to substitute for buyer beware, honest and ethical standards.
“Businesses of today [1926] are built on consumer confidence, have more of a spiritual feel—a great spirit of cooperation that has radically changed business methods, and have realized that the greatest service that can be rendered to stockholders is to render maximum service to customers." [See Footnote #1]
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In January 1926, A. W. Shaw published in System: The Magazine of Business the following survey. More must be done to develop a deeper, well-rounded understanding of—and admiration for—our country’s early business founders. We need to write of their trials, tribulations and successes. Writing figuratively: We need to etch their images in stone just as we have our early political founders.
If we do this, maybe our twenty-first century chief executives will once again—like their twentieth-century counterparts, learn to measure success by ideals and not by dollars and cents. |
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A. W. Shaw wrote that this was “the great message” he discovered in this survey from 1926.
It is a great message—yesterday and today.
It is a great message—yesterday and today.
An Inquiry of Early 20th Century American Industrialists by A. W. Shaw
- What Contributions Most Affected American Capitalism from 1900 to 1925?
The actual wording of the question was as follows:
“What are the greatest things that have happened to business in the last 25 years?”
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At first the vagueness of the question—“things,” was bothersome; but what if Mr. Shaw had more-narrowly focused his fellow businessmen’s thoughts by asking greatest “inventions?” Surely the Great War, the Federal Reserve System, or a Higher Standard of Living would have been lost … along with the top response.
As it was, inventions still came in at 2nd, 4th and 10th places out of twelve “things”—without prompting. |
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It was a specific, yet vague question. It was like asking a person to throw a dart at a dartboard with no central bullseye—there was no single appropriate answer. Instead, A. W. Shaw evaluated how the chief executives’ darts “clustered” around certain topics as they thought more openly, more creatively, more intuitively … and with less direction than if the publisher had given them a well-defined target. Conceptually, this was an open-book, essay test rather than a multiple-choice quiz.
Here is the ordered list followed by the editor’s clarifications as he explained his “clustering” of his reader’s responses:
Here is the ordered list followed by the editor’s clarifications as he explained his “clustering” of his reader’s responses:
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Numbers 1 through 7
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Numbers 8 through 12
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- Who Made the Greatest Contributions to American Business Development from 1900 to 1925?
A. W. Shaw printed the answers of his fellow business men to the following question:
“Who, among businessmen, have made the greatest contributions to the development of business since 1900?”
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This is that list. Underneath each individual is a link to any review(s) by this author of their books, biographies or autobiographies. At the end of this list are other individuals mentioned by Mr. Shaw’s readers but who did not make the top eleven—honorable mentions so to speak. If available, links are also provided to reviews on this website of their manuscripts, biographies or autobiographies.
These are the eleven top individuals: |
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Numbers 1 through 5
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Numbers 6 through 11
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These are the honorable mentions:
Nelson W. Aldrich; Roger W. Babson; Bernard M. Baruch; President Coolidge; Lee De Forest; Marshall Field; A. Lincoln Filene; Edward A. Filene; Dr. Edwin F. Gay; Carter Glass; Edward H. Harriman; Secretary Mellon; Samuel Rae; Charles P. Steinmetz; Theodore N. Vail; John Wanamaker; Woodrow Wilson; F. W. Woolworth.
Footnote #1: This last insight has been the ever-present theme in “THINK Again” which is in its second release: The Rometty Edition. These “quotes” have been modified for effect and adapted for today’s audience. Though they are different in wording they are effectively the same.