Benevolent Barons: American Worker-Centered Industrialists, 1850-1910

American business has always had deep roots in community. For over a century, the country looked to philanthropic industrialists to finance hospitals, parks, libraries, civic programs, community welfare and disaster aid. Worker-centered capitalists saw the workplace as an extension of the community and poured millions into schools, job training and adult education. Often criticized as welfare capitalism, this system was unique in the world.

Lesser known capitalists like Peter Cooper and Ge...