How does American business affect you? How and why has it changed since the United States began? Come explore stories of business men and women who have changed the world. See hundreds of intriguing objects that illustrate transformations in society. Think about how Americans have mixed capitalism and democracy, in an effort to balance individual opportunity and the common good.

In the Merchant Era, a market revolution affected enslaved and free people, transforming relationships between buyers and sellers and replacing face-to-face bargaining with less personal business.