The Incorporation of America Culture and Society in the Gilded Age

A classic examination of the roots of corporate culture, newly revised and updated for the twenty first century Alan Trachtenberg presents a balanced analysis of the expansion of capitalist power in the last third of the nineteenth century and the cultural changes it brought in its wake. In America's westward expansion, labor unrest, newly powerful cities, and newly mechanized industries, the ideals and ideas by which Americans lived were reshaped, and American society became more structured, with an entrenched middle class and a powerful business elite. Here, in an updated edition which includes a new introduction and a revised bibliographical essay, is a brilliant, essential work on the origins of America's corporate culture and the formation of the American social fabric after the Civil War. Alan Trachtenbergis the Neil Gray, Jr., Professor Emeritus of English and American Studies at Yale University, where he taught for thirty-five years. His books includeReading American Photographs,The Shades of Hiawatha, andBrooklyn Bridge:Fact or Symbol. He lives in Hamden, Connecticut. Today, hardly any realm of American life is untouched by the culture of corporations: politics, education, family life, literature, the arts. When did this happen and what were its effects? Alan Trachtenberg traces the expansion of capitalist power in the last third of the nineteenth century and the cultural changes it brought in its wake. By examining the major socioeconomic issues of the day--westward expansion, labor unrest, the rise of the cities, and mechanization--Trachtenberg shows how the ideals and ideas by which Americans lived were reshaped and society emerged more structured, with an entrenched middle class and a powerful business elite. This twenty-fifth anniversary edition with a new preface is a discerning analysis of the origins of America's corporate culture and the formation of American social fabric after the civil war. "Trachtenberg offers a succinct synthesis of the most recent scholarship of the Gilded Age within a compelling interpretive framework . . .The Incorporation of Americaredirects American Studies to fundamental problems and suggests to new social historians the rich possibilities of cultural analysis."--H. L. Horowitz,Journal of American History "Books likeIncorporationthat offer serious and far-reaching arguments deserve to be thoroughly discussed . . . We need a new narrative--or group of narratives--of American cultural history that takes into account the last 150 years.The Incorporation of Americais arguably the starting point for such a new narrative."--David R. Shumway,American Literary History "The Incorporation of America: Culture and Society in the Gilded Agewas first published in 1982 and is re-issued in an updated 25th anniversary paperback edition here for any collection strong in American history, whether it be a high school of college holding or a public lending library. Trachtenberg's analysis of the expansion of capitalist power in the late 19th century and the cultural changes that accompanied it provides historical essays key to understanding both the era and capitalist effort." --The Midwest Book Review"The Incorporation of Americais one of those historical essays that not only illuminate their particular subject matter--in this case, American culture and society in the last half of the nineteenth century--but deepen our understanding of how we might think about the general question of 'culture' itself."--Warren I. Susman, Rutgers University

Alan Trachtenberg is the Neil Gray Jr. Professor Emeritus of English and American studies at Yale University, where he taught for thirty-five years. His books include Shades of Hiawatha (H&W, 2004).