A study that examines the development of a late Nineteenth Century businessman, who embraced the ideas of entrepreneurship, and his evolutionary shift toward a philosophy of cooperation for stability and mutual advantage. James W. Ellsworth was a second level of businessman--beneath the extremely wealthy magnates--who founded a coal mercantile firm in Chicago the late 1870s. Selling coal principally to the burgeoning railroads, he amassed a minor fortune and by the 1890s had established a reputation of meeting any company's fuel demands promptly. He developed an appreciation for art, which got him elected as a director of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1983. Ellsworth helped plan, finance, and obtain exhibits for the fair and when it concluded, he was instrumental in creating the Field Columbian Museum from the exposition. The businessman was also president of the Union National Bank. He saved the bank from failure during the depression of 1893-1897, and even solicited a large monetary fund from the Chicago banking community for William McKinley's Presidential campaign in 1896. Moreover, he helped develop Chicago's park system during his tenure as president of the South Park Commission. / During the decade of the 1890s Ellsworth understood the necessity of cooperation. He was involved in many endeavors that he knew little about and was compelled to rely on others for assistance. Gradually the idea of cooperation emerged, which was apparent when he solicited money. In 1898 he expanded his business vertically and began operation of his own coal mines in western Pennsylvania. Utlizing cooperation in the form of paternalism, he created what he called a mining utopia, where the workers lived in nice homes, with clean surroundings, and good social services. He sold the entire town in 1907 and returned to his hometown of Hudson, Ohio and offered to make this community a model town. Residents accepted his proposition only after they agreed to cooperate with him in the project. Part of his plan was the re-establishment of Western Reserve Academy in the town, and he realized this goal in 1916. When he died Ellsworth left the school a handsome endowment. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-03, Section: A, page: 0844. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75078 |
| Contributors | HYSER, RAYMOND MARSHALL., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 491 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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