Two American Entrepreneurs: Madam C.J. Walker and J.C. Penney
features the life stories of two business people who lived the American Dream and who helped make that dream a reality for others in their communities. It tells how Walker, an African American woman, and Penney, a former tuberculosis patient, built from scratch their multi-million and billion dollar businesses.
Andrew Carnegie: The Richest Man in the World
is an online companion to film documentary on a man who was fond of saying "The man who dies rich, dies disgraced." Carnegie amassed a fortune, then gave it away. Millions of dollars went to support education, a pension plan for teachers, and the cause of world peace. Most famous as a benefactor of libraries, he funded nearly 3,000 around the world. The site has dozens of images and texts dealing with the great industrialist, his contemporary millionaires, and his times.
Grant-Kohrs Ranch
commemorates America's frontier cattle era. The ranch—located north of Yellowstone in Deer Lodge, Montana—is among the best surviving examples of an economic strategy based on the western cattle industry of the 1850s-1970s. A German immigrant, Conrad Kohrs, purchased the ranch in 1866 and began by supplying to mining camp butcher shops.
Hopewell Furnace: A Pennsylvania Iron-making Plantation
tells the story of one of the 65 small ironworks operating in southeast Pennsylvania during the American Revolution. The Hopewell Furnace, located in forested hills and valleys along French Creek in Berks County, operated from 1771 to 1883. The furnace was the center of a self-contained hierarchical community of 200-300 people, all of whose work was related to the production of iron.
Paterson, New Jersey: America's Silk City
examines conditions that led to the famous 1913 strike in a city that produced nearly half the U.S.'s manufactured silk. Conflicts between labor and management increased in the U.S. during the early 20th century. In Paterson, on January 27, 1913, when Henry Doherty tried to extend a new "four-loom system" throughout his plant, 800 silk weavers walked out. More than 20,000 Paterson silk workers took part in the strike, which lasted over five months.
Tupperware
offers insights into U.S. history: our economy after World War II, the plastics industry, direct selling and business history, women in society and the workplace, the rise of American consumerism, the American Dream, and more. Meet people who built their lives around Tupperware. Learn how a new billiard ball launched the plastics industry. See the "invention notebooks" of Earl Tupper, who grew up dirt poor and dreamed of becoming a millionaire.
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story
focuses on one of the most successful whaling captains in New England. Edward Penniman was 11 in 1842 when he signed on as cook on a schooner. Years later, as a captain, he set sail from New Bedford seven times to hunt whales. The trips generally took several years each. Letters indicate he did not like life at sea, but the money allowed him to afford a large ornate house, which is featured at this site, along with a brief a history of whaling in America.
Small Business Administration
offers 30-minute courses on how to start a business, develop a business plan, find start-up funding, assess financial needs, manage cash flow, conduct a marketing analysis, build your brand, build a website for e-commerce, ensure computer security, do business internationally, plan for retirement, and more. Some courses require online registration.
Building America's Industrial Revolution: The Boott Cotton Mills of Lowell, Massachusetts
features one of the oldest surviving textile mill complexes in the U.S. Learn how technology revolutionized the textile-manufacturing industry, and, in turn, affected mill architecture, city planning, and transportation.
Saugus Iron Works: Life and Work at an Early American Industrial Site
examines life and work at the first successful integrated ironmaking plant in colonial America (from 1646 until 1668, 10 miles north of Boston).
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: A Moravian Settlement in Colonial America
looks at this area (along the Lehigh River) that became the center of industry and community for Moravians, a Protestant group that migrated to colonial America seeking opportunity and the chance to spread their religious beliefs.
Wheat Farms, Flour Mills, and Railroads: A Web of Interdependence
examines those three industries as they evolved together in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and North Dakota during the late 1800s. The three depended on each other for success and propelled this region to dominance in U.S. flour production for more than half a century.
Mechanics Hall: Symbol of Pride and Industry
traces the history of Mechanics Hall and Worcester back to the industrial revolution. Built by the mechanics association for classes, public debates, lectures, and entertainment, the hall opened in 1857 as showcase of innovative building techniques and mechanical systems. It remained the center of Worcester's cultural life into the mid-20th century.
