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Article: Corporation
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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CORPORATION
Along with sole proprietorships and partnerships, corporations were one of the three basic ways of organizing a business. Virtually all of the largest and most powerful businesses in the United States were corporations, and thousands of many very small businesses were as well.
Corporations had specific legal rights and characteristics that made them ideal for engaging in major economic enterprises. The owners of a corporation were not legally liable for more than their own investment in the corporation. In contrast, if the business of a sole proprietor accumulated massive debts the proprietor was personally, legally responsible for all of them. Corporations were thus also ...