SPECIAL   TOPICS  FOR  PUPILS

1.  The  Union  Pacific  Railroad.  Barstow,  C.  L.,  The  Progress  of
a  United  People,  pp.  135-140  ;  Paxson,  F.  L.,  The  Last  American
Frontier,  ch.  XIII.
CHAPTER  XLI
THE   AGE    OF   BIG   BUSINESS

The  Growth  of  Corporations.  The  rise  of  large  corporations
in  the  business  world  was  one  of  the  results  of  the  Industrial
Revolution.  That  revolution  was  marked  by  the  change  from
hand  labor  to  machine  labor.  At  first  the  partnership  was
employed  as  a  means  of  obtaining  the  larger  capital  demanded
by  the  new  industrial  methods.  But  the  age  of  big  business
that  followed  the  Civil  War  demanded  an  immense  amount  of
capital,  more  than  even  wealthy  partners  could  supply;  and
hence  the  corporation  gradually  came  into  use  for  large  industrial
enterprises.  The  corporation  secures  large  amounts  of  capital  by
dividing  its  stock  into  many  small  shares.  These  shares  are
sold  to  numerous  individuals  who,  by  their  purchase,  become
stockholders  in  the  corporation.  The  control  of  the  corpora-
tion is  vested  in  a  small  board  of  directors  elected  by  the
stockholders,  and  having  power  to  act  for  them  in  most  cases.
