or more of these visiting Scottish or British chartered accountants. City directories from 1850 show 14 accountants in public practice in New York, four in Philadelphia and one in Chicago. By 1886, there were 115 listed in New York, 87 in Philadelphia and 31 in Chicago. Groups of accountants joined together to form professional societies in cities across America. In 1887, the first national accounting society was formed - the American Association of Public Accountants, the predecessor of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. However booming, the United States was still an infant nation when the American Institute of Public Accountants was formed. The Civil War ended with the U.S. still a predominantly farming-based economy. It was just the year before that the Apache chief Geronimo had surrendered to the federal authorities. The ensuing decades saw great economic growth as industry began to overtake agriculture in financial importance. This period of growth also saw its share of financial scandals. Over-capitalization and stock speculation caused financial panics in 1873 and 1893. Watered railroad stocks were in the headlines, along with concerns about growing monopolies in several industries. Labor unions developed in response to corporate exploitation of workers. Congress responded by passing the first Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act, marking the beginnings of federal regulation of business. When Theodore Roosevelt became president after the 1901 assassination of William McKinley, he supported the use of governmental power to control the growing industrial monopolies and the price increases they caused. The Roosevelt administration helped persuade Congress to establish the Department of Commerce and Labor to gather the facts needed to enforce the antitrust laws. The Interstate Commerce Commission's powers over transportation were broadened, and the ICC established a uniform system of accoun...
