ABSTRACT
The previous chapter explored at length the manner in which the economic crisis of the late nineteenth century led to the growth of the regulated economic structure that persisted throughout the progressive era. This chapter investigates the rise of regulation in the American iron and steel industry so as to encourage a more concrete understanding of the manner in which capitalists attempted to regulate markets and production through government channels and their own devices during the early twentieth century. The fi rst section of the chapter explores the special conditions in the iron and steel industry that facilitated consolidation around the turn of the century and the unique pattern of combination to which they gave rise. The second and third sections then explore, respectively, the degree to which U.S. Steel succeeded in stabilizing product prices during the progressive era and the role of the federal government in stabilizing conditions in the industry. The fi nal section presents the empirical evidence necessary to evaluate the degree to which regulation in the industry managed to increase the growth rate of industrial output, the rate of profi t, and the amount of capital invested in the industry.
