Making America Great: American Government and the American Economy, 1789-2024
A Fall 2024 Emeritus Society CourseCost:
$ 120.00 per personDuration:
1h 30minAbout this experience
Fridays, 10:00 – 11:30 am
September 13 - October 25 (No October 4)
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
The very first Congress of the new United States (1789-1793) was marked by disputes over the role of government in the nation’s economic affairs. Such disputes have continued ever since the 1790s. Nevertheless, from the late 18th century to the present, the federal government has been closely involved at every stage in the development of the American economy. The story of this fraught “partnership” is the story of different ideas about just how the Constitution’s self-described purposes for creating the United States—to “establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty”—should be realized. In this series, we will look at the growth of the American economy from the perspective of the complicated, evolving business-government relationship and try to understand the ways in which over 200+ years this relationship has served to make America “great” in social, cultural, and political as well as economic terms.
- The Constitution and the Economy: Questions and Answers, 1790s - 1830s
- Railroads and the Development of a National Economy, 1830s - 1880s
- Big Business - Management, Corporations, and Trusts, 1830s - 1910s
- Profits Meet Public Interest, 1890s - 1930s
- Government Takes Charge, 1940s - 1960s
- Government, Business, and the Global Economy, 1970s - 2020s
Your Host
Stephen Ruzicka (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is Professor Emeritus of History at UNC Greensboro. He is the recipient of the Alumni Teaching Excellence Award. As an ancient historian he writes about the 4th century B.C., but he likes to talk about everything.