Presented by Willard Hurst as part of his course "Introduction to Modern American Legal History" at the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1978. Andrew Carnegie's thoughts on production and organization and the accumulation of corporate capital are used to open the lecture. Hurst ties this into a consideration of the moral, economic, and political legitimacy of private decision-making. He goes on to discuss the law of tort and its impact upon private power. The concluding portions of the lecture focus on economic efficiency, the distribution of wealth, and the roles of stockholders and trusteeships. Andrew Carnegie continues to be the focus of this lecture as Hurst begins by discussing his philanthropic donations. The ideologies behind the Carnegie Corporation are examined, and this is tied to a broader discussion of large-scale production enterprises. Hurst continues by discussing Lord Brice and other currents of public policy in the late nineteenth century. This includes an examination of the nation's increased legal intervention, Roosevelt's use of increased federal intervention, and general community response to technological changes.
