Bringing an American studies point of view to a topic dominated by economists, social scientists, legal scholars, and entrepreneurs themselves, this special issue examines the American entrepreneurial spirit. The (hi)story of American entrepreneurs is, in a sense, the American story at large. As such, it not only cuts across, but also exposes the systemic (and unresolved) blemishes of the American national experiment with regards to race and gender, among others.

Table of Contents

The American Entrepreneurial Spirit: A Primer (Stefan Rabitsch and Michael Fuchs)

George Washington, the Godfather of American Entrepreneurism (Heinz Tschachler)

"When you look at a calf, what do you see?" Land(ed) Business, Manifest Entrepreneurialism, and Competing Capitalisms in the Contemporary West of Yellowstone (Stefan Rabitsch)

The Bicycle in the Service of Reform: Frances Willard's Social Entrepreneurship, Her "Do Everything" Policy, and the Temperance Temple Campaign (Kelly Payne and Janel Simons)

Creative Extinction: Serial Cycles of De-Extinction and Re-Extinction in Resurrection Business (Michael Fuchs)