The Rise of Big Business in the United States, Great Britain, and Japan

1. The Rise of Big Business in the United States, Great Britain, and Japan By Jimmy Bedingfield and Ryan Wynns

2. Background Essay Hard work, dedication, and a little bit of luck; these are the principles of financial success in capitalism. This system of economic structure is defined as “an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.” Unlike the common misconception of capitalism being solely an American ideology, other countries such as Japan and Britain used such systems, specifically in big businesses. For centuries, most capitalist countries were fuelled by small businesses offering certain trades. The 19th century brought upon a time of growing international trade with new desires for Chinese goods, American steel and diamonds from South Africa. Approaching the 20th century, the U.S. was the largest manufacturer in the world, exceeding the production of Germany, France, and Great Britain combined. A large reason for this was because of America’s structure of larger corporations. While other countries kept the ownerships of companies to the owner families, American companies went public and had a more efficient way of management, including a central leadership office and individual branches of production. America might have been one of the few countries to pursue this management system but other countries still had very capitalist societies. In Japan, companies such as Mitsubishi may have been owned by a small group of businessmen but they used modern industry tactics of manufacturing and business. Another reason for America’s success was the support of its own government in its business by little government regulation. Former Japanese and British economies didn’t use free market capitalism and were highly controlled by their own governments, limiting their own success. America is often seen as pioneer-like in their ideas in capitalism. This is true in a sense due to the new ideas and methods of production, but other national powers used many of the same methods of business as America. The rise of big business changed more than American capitalism, it also resulted in a more efficient global economy for the entire world.

3. Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith • Published in 1776, Adam Smith wrote a guide to the fundamentals of a new economic system known as capitalism. Economists today define capitalism as “an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production, with the goal of making a profit.” One of the first countries to adopt this system was the United States, as hundreds of other nations soon followed after their success.

4. Industrial Revolution • During the mid-19th century, new inventions such as the steam engine and the discovery of energy from coal created a more efficient way for businesses to manufacture. This picture shows a group of children working in an efficient assembly line, showing that the former economy, predominately run by family owned small businesses and trade workers, was now starting to die down. The new technology changed business styles into larger companies making their product for a cheaper price.

5. New Structure of Businesses • As corporations grew in size, owners began to look for more efficient methods in leadership towards their businesses. The new strategy that started, which still stands today in many cases, consists of a corporate office to make overall company decisions and focus on the big picture. Smaller offices manufacture goods and solve local issues regarding the company. Below is a picture of a corporate office solving problems and making decisions for their company.

6. Horizontal Integration • Above is a map of properties owned by Carnegie Steel. Notice how Carnegie's company owns practically everything needed for the production of his steel. This method of production, know as horizontal integration, is often regard to be the most efficient way of making a product for a big business, as can be seen by the success of Carnegie Steel.

7. Monopolies As businesses grew in size, competitors were often put out of business, giving a single company clear control over the market. This situation is known as a monopoly, which is defined as “the exclusive possession or control of the supply or trade in a commodity or service.” This picture shows Railroad owners Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, and Cyrus W. Fields in control of the railroad system meaning to be a depiction of their monopoly during the late 1800’s.

8. Big Business Affects Living Conditions • This picture helps to give the viewer an idea of what large business building looked like back in the late 19th century. During this time, industrialization was thriving in America, resulting in a busy, over-populated, and polluted community. The man in the picture looks over a Carnegie Steel plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania. Notice the smoke, complexity, and commotion that is taking place in the area, showing what this big business has done to these areas.

9. Strike in Business • This flier allows the viewer to realize that big businesses often paid poorly and gave poor conditions to their workers. This lack of pay for workers sometimes resulted in deadly and unnecessary strikes in an attempt to benefit the working man. The man representing the big business is shouting “get back to work” in several different languages referring to how many big business owners ignored these demands and often threatened striking workers.

10. Big Business Begins in Britain • The way that British businesses were managed changed during the late 19th century. As businesses grew in size and certain products became more of a necessity in Britain, businesses ended up changing their methods of production. These changes included hiring more people and using more advanced equipment. These changes resulted in a better British economy and an increase in big businesses throughout Britain.

11. Trade Opens to the Far East • During the mid 19th century, western countries such as the U.S. began to trade with the formerly trade-restricted Japan. The picture shows several ships is a docking bay, most likely trading as we can infer from the different colored flags. Also, a train is transporting people away from the bay-area, showing the new efficiency created from industrialization. This beginning to capitalism from the west ended traditional feudalism and started what would eventually come to big business in Japan.

12. Big Business in Japan • In addition to Great Britain and the United States, Japan was making major and efficient developments in their factory production. Family owned companies, known as the zaibatsu, controlled most of the manufacturing in Japan. Companies such as Mitsubishi controlled everything from silk, cotton, mining, iron, shipbuilding, and chemicals. After recently opening up their borders to trade with other nations, Japan discovered efficient ways of assembly in business which helped them to become a major world power.

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