Description: What is a business? For that matter, what is capitalism, the economic system in which business in the United States operates? And how have these concepts taken shape over American history, laying an indelible imprint on this country‘s social, political, and economic fortunes and struggles? This course examines the history of American business and American capitalism. We will examine how business firms have been organized, what types of economic activities (trade, industrial production, transportation, communication, and finance) businesses have engaged in, and how workers, employers, politicians, activists, and consumers have struggled to determine exactly what business should do and for whom.