Jack Welch becomes CEO of General Electric at age 45 and delivers his landmark speech ‘Growing fast in a slow-growth economy’ in New York City, marking what is widely acknowledged as the ‘dawn of the shareholder value movement.’ Welch operationalizes Milton Friedman’s …
Roger Blough, the 65-year-old retired chairman of U.S. Steel, founds the Construction Users Anti-Inflation Roundtable (CUAIR) in 1969, “affectionately known” as “Roger’s Roundtable,” with the explicit goal of breaking construction union power. Blough’s intention …
President Harry S. Truman signs the Defense Production Act in response to the Korean War, enacting sweeping federal authority over industrial mobilization and war production. The legislation enables Truman to establish the Office of Defense Mobilization, institute wage and price controls, strictly …
President Harry Truman signs the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 on August 1, establishing the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to control the development and production of nuclear weapons and to develop nuclear power. The act creates unprecedented peacetime secrecy powers and establishes the framework for …
The National Association of Manufacturers launches a massive multi-faceted propaganda campaign in response to the unprecedented 1946 strike wave, when nearly 10 percent of the US workforce goes on strike including major actions by the United Auto Workers against General Motors, United Steel Workers …
Radio Corporation of America created the National Broadcasting Company through acquisition and merger of the WEAF and WJZ station chains, establishing the first major commercial radio broadcasting network in the United States. RCA owned 50 percent of NBC, with General Electric holding 30 percent and …