Because the US is composed of 50 separate states which are spread of a far area, it has a complex economy. The concept of laissez-faire, which is at the core of the American ideal, allows countless entrepreneurs to enter the market all across the country.
However, sometimes the federal government must regulate the flow of money, rate of production, and actions of these business owners. For this reason it created the Department of Commerce in order to regulate and promote American business and foreign trade.
Near the turn of the twentieth century, a handful of owners of large businesses were using their collective power to manipulate the market. This netted them huge profits but caused immeasurable harm to normal investors. The Progressive party, representative of farmers and laborers, was also beginning to gain momentum. In 1903, Congress created the Department of Commerce and Labor “to investigate and report upon the operations of corporations engaged in interstate commerce” and prevent such abuses by large business owners (Columbia). Ten years later, the Department of Labor becoming a separate entity. The Department of Commerce's new primary responsibility was to promote domestic business enterprise and expand foreign trade. The secretary of commerce was given the responsibility of fostering commercial shipping and the nation's merchant marine (Nash).
Since 1913, the role of the Department of Commerce has expanded exponentially. It is responsible taking of censuses, promotion of American business at home and abroad, establishing standard weights and measures, and issuing patents and registering trademarks (Columbia). The Department of Commerce uses many techniques and countless agencies in order to achieve its goals. It advances technology through patents. It researches, analyzes, and promulgates statistics and other information vital the functioning of US economy and businesses, such as personal income, gross national product, and government purchases. It aids areas of economic depression by granting loans to enterprises in said areas and creating employment opportunity. The Department of Commerce stimulates foreign trade by publishing information about imports and exports and sponsoring trade expositions and conferences dealing with international trade for US business people. Finally, It lobbies for or opposes legislation desirable to American business people (Nash).
The current Secretary of Commerce is Carlos M. Gutierrez and under him Deputy Secretary of Commerce David A. Simpson. Agency that operate under the Department of Commerce include: the Minority Business Development Agency, the National Bureau of Standards, the Patent and Trademark Office, the National Technical Information Service, the Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Bureau of Industrial Economics. However, the Department of Commerce also controls such seemingly unrelated agencies as the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations. The Department was allotted $6.55 billion in the congressional budget this year to further its strategic agenda (Commerce.gov)
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Since its inception a little more than a century ago, the Department of Commerce has expanded into one of the most important organizations in the US, and the Secretary of Commerce has taken a position in the president's cabinet. Initially created to prevent abuses by large business of its laborers, the Department of Commerce has become much more. This body ensures that interstate and foreign trade run smoothly, that information regarding said trade is properly spread, and that the rights of entrepreneurs and consumers alike are protected. Also, with the advent of globalization in recent times, the Department of Commerce's role has become all the more complex and important.
