Entrepreneurial Community

The Entrepreneurial Community

Grew in towns across America. As the geographical frontier matured, towns took on increasing importance. The census of 1890 declared that the frontier was closed, and American small towns became increasingly important in the culture. The entrepreneurial community grew in these towns. Although there were also some such communities within the cities, by and large the cities were much more diverse and these communities were less prominent.

Generally composed of small businessmen. Store keepers, lawyers, doctors, teachers. These were the professional and business leaders of the town. They were a professional class with special domains of interest that they contributed to the town. They were each other's customers. That is, the doctor traded with the grocer who had his family treated by the doctor.

Organized the community. Men who ran these small organizations, organized the community in which they lived through these organizations.

Business Clubs. Weekly social get togethers that knit the entrepreneurial community. The group gathered over a meal, usually lunch, at a cafe in town. They discussed business, made business deals, and listened to speakers for entertainment. These clubs and their meetings were similar to today's Lions, Kiwanis, Rotary, Sertoma, or Optimists (all founded shortly after 1900). They offered self-improvement to their members as well as the opportunity to conduct business affairs.

Civic Associations. Although organized much like the business clubs, these were specifically organized as booster organizations for the community. They are the forerunners of today's Chambers of Commerce.

Authority built around knowledge. Wisdom and happiness in life were described as the result of making good decisions. Good decisions came from having knowledge. Thus, knowledge came to grant great authority. This was a professional system, thus, there were domains of knowledge recognized by others in which each member ruled. Education was also important because it provided knowledge. But the educational system of the day was reoriented toward training and away from a liberal arts education for civic citizenship. Professional schools and academic disciplines developed in educational institutions during this time to provide the specialized training.

Individual Initiative was also a source of authority. "Individual initiative" combined the reverence for and centrality of the "individual" that had grown from the influence of the reform movement with the power of initiative that had been heralded as the secret to American development of the continent. Authority was constructed on the basis of individual characteristics rather than status in the community. This was the individual in self-pursuit rather than the individual in community. "Community" was viewed as the result of good decisions by individuals. <Success> was a key ideograph in this rhetoric. <Success> was the measure of individual quality and initiative. Those with <success> were granted authority because the success testified to their character and initiative.

The Moral Lesson. If knowledge is the key to life, speakers must teach. Most often those lessons were about morality. They concentrated on particular personal characteristics, often challenging the member to strive for those qualities. The lessons were also pragmatic. They depicted moral character as paying off in success. Often, the texture of the speeches were "how to . . ." that explained secrets to success.

The Narrative of Success. Also popular was a style that told biographic narratives of success. The moral lesson was still present, but outlined in terms of the story of a successful individual. That success was traced to the elements of character and initiative and the narratives celebrated the linkage between these and success.

Organizing interlocking business into community. The rhetoric of the community taught loyalty and commitment to those in the club. The drifter and the non-joiner were demonized. This theme helped to hold the members into the interlocking economic structure that dominated the towns. Another central theme of the rhetoric was the place of the businessman as meeting the needs of others. Thus, the most valued characteristic of the businessman was not profit, but what your business provided for others. Profit was the result of providing for the needs of others and, of course, a sign of success in doing so.

Supporting the Entrepreneurial Motivational System. The narratives of success were narratives of people who took risk, worked hard, and succeeded. Thus, the taking of risk was canonized. Thus, the capitalist necessity of risking capital for gain became a central value of the community.

Reaching comfort with the disparities of wealth. Wealth was merely a measure of success, the pragmatic result of hard work. In contrast, poverty was the result of lack of character or initiative. Thus, the disparities of wealth were natural results of the world as it worked. In addition, the narratives provided a structure for social advancement. They told stories of the lowly person who took initiative and worked hard and became a success. Thus, they supported belief that anyone could get ahead in America. The result was to see poverty and wealth in individual terms rather than in terms of economic systems. People's wealth was a result of their own character rather than a result of the economic system.

You are asked to present the 1890 Outstanding Entrepreneur Award of the Chamber of Commerce to the owner of the local telephone exchange. Write the short speech you will give when presenting the award.
You are to address the 1892 Graduating Class of your old High School. Write the final paragraph of the speech that you will give them.