For seven years, the economic philosophy and political values of Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover challenged the structure, attitudes, and positions of a major, but poorly functioning, industry. This clash of wills and purposes, although colorful in itself, had broader significance in the evolution of government-business relationships in the United States. Professor Hawley argues that it was an important milestone in the conceptual development of “cooperative individualism and competitive co-operation.”

What were the ingredients for success for British merchants in the eighteenth-century trans-Atlantic trade? In the failure of Ralph Carr of Newcastle to market European goods in America during the 1750's, Professor Roberts personalizes an answer.

As the American South recovered from the Civil War, railroads and the businessmen who managed them were important ingredients in the process of economic change. But who were the railroad leaders of the first generation of the “New South” and what were their personal and corporate goals? What were the effects of their actions on the course of southern restoration? Sharply at odds with the usual “carpetbagger” demonology, Professor Klein suggests an alternative explanation and analysis.

Following a review of the early period of British investment in Latin America (1822–1865) and a discussion of previous estimates of British capital exports to South and Central America before World War I, Professor Stone presents new and revised data concerning the composition and distribution of British holdings by amount, industry, and region.