The consequences of even a modest decrease in a business’s stock price have become so dire that some executives would rather damage their corporation’s long-term health than allow quarterly returns to fall below projections. How did this situation come about? Lawrence E. Mitchell shows that the tipping point came in the first years of the 20th century. He explores the legal, financial, economic, and social transformations that led to the birth of the giant modern corporation and how this in turn spurred the rise of the stock market. Mitchell identifies what made traditionally cautious Americans become eager stock speculators, and why the federal government’s attempts to regulate finance completely missed the mark. By the dawn of the 1920s, the stock market had left behind its business origins to become the very reason for the creation of business itself.
“A fascinating account of the early 20th century emergence of a stock-market-oriented economy.”
—BusinessWeek
“The fullest and most persuasive account of the origins of the modern corporate myopic emphasis on the almighty quarterly bottom line, and of the emergence of everyman (and woman) as speculator. Equally valuable are the insights into the early efforts to address the growing power of corporations and the men who dominated them.”
—Maury Klein, Business History Review
“Mitchell has successfully constructed a highly engaging book about a fundamental but somewhat unexplored period in U.S. financial market history.” —Carola Frydman, Journal of Economic History
“Mitchell’s writing is graceful, comprehensive, and persuasive that as significant as the story of trusts and the trustbusters has been, the rise of finance capitalism and ultimately its federal coordination through such agencies as the Federal Reserve System and the Securities and Exchange Commission may be even more important.”
—Joel Seligman, President, University of Rochester, and author of The Transformation of Wall Street.
“Lawrence Mitchell’s new work is full of fresh insight… Anyone interested in the development of our modern financial markets will be richly rewarded by a careful reading.”
—Harvey J. Goldschmid, Dwight Professor of Law, Columbia University, former Member, United States Securities and Exchange Commission
