100 Years of Picturing the Nation's Business

One hundred years ago, on April 22, 1912...

...700 representatives of American business gathered in Washington, D.C. President William Howard Taft spoke to them, requesting that businesses form a national group to advise the government on issues facing industry and business throughout the country. The Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America was formed.

As part of the 100th anniversary of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, the Hagley Museum and Library has digitized over one thousand Chamber images originally published in their monthly magazine, Nation's Business.

New York City, women workers in a factory, Roosevelt speech

Nation's Business

One of the earliest projects of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States was publishing a monthly magazine, Nation’s Business. From its first issue, published in September 1912, the magazine proved invaluable in communicating the Chamber’s messages to business and government.

Every issue of the Nation's Business from 1912 to 1999 has been digitized and is available for research in the Hagley Digital Archives.

Search the entire collection of online images here or click on a subject below to begin: