The Myth of the Robber Barons: A New Look at the Rise of Big Business in America [Paperback]

Burton W. Folsom (Author), Forrest McDonald (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0963020315 | ISBN-13: 978-0963020314 | Publication Date: 1991

The Myth of the Robber Barons describes the role of key entrepreneurs in the economic growth of the United States from 1850 to 1910. The entrepreneurs studied are Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, James J. Hill, Andrew Mellon, Charles Schwab, and the Scranton family. Most historians argue that these men, and others like them, were Robber Barons. The story, however, is more complicated. The author, Burton Folsom, divides the entrepreneurs into two groups market entrepreneurs and political entrepreneurs. The market entrepreneurs, such as Hill, Vanderbilt, and Rockefeller, succeeded by producing a quality product at a competitive price. The political entrepreneurs such as Edward Collins in steamships and in railroads the leaders of the Union Pacific Railroad were men who used the power of government to succeed. They tried to gain subsidies, or in some way use government to stop competitors. The market entrepreneurs helped lead to the rise of the U. S. as a major economic power. By 1910, the U. S. dominated the world in oil, steel, and railroads led by Rockefeller, Schwab (and Carnegie), and Hill. The political entrepreneurs, by contrast, were a drain on the taxpayers and a thorn in the side of the market entrepreneurs. Interestingly, the political entrepreneurs often failed without help from government they could not produce competitive products. The author describes this clash of the market entrepreneurs and the political entrepreneurs. In the Mellon chapter, the author describes how Andrew Mellon an entrepreneur in oil and aluminum became Secretary of Treasury under Coolidge. In office, Mellon was the first American to practice supply-side economics. He supported cuts on income tax rates for all groups. The rate cut on the wealthiest Americans, from 73 percent to 25 percent, freed up investment capital and led to American economic growth during the 1920s. Also, the amount of revenue into the federal treasury increased sharply after tax rates were cut. The Myth of the Robber Barons has separate chapters on Vanderbilt, Hill, Schwab, Mellon, and the Scrantons. The author also has a conclusion, in which he looks at the textbook bias on the subject of Robber Barons and the rise of the U. S. in the late 1800s. This chapter explores three leading college texts in U. S. history and shows how they misread American history and disparage market entrepreneurs instead of the political entrepreneurs. This book is in its fifth edition, and is widely adopted in college and high school classrooms across the U. S.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Revises in important ways many misperceptions that historians have imposed upon the record. Though Folsom's work is balanced, judicious history, addressed to the past...it has powerful relevance to current political discourse. --Forest McDonald, Professor of History, University of Alabama

The MYTH OF THE ROBBER BARONS is... excellent. . . . In short, this book is the perfect supplement to most standard economic and business history textbooks. this reviewer has adopted it already. --Larry Schweikart, THE HISTORIAN

I read this book in one sitting. In spite of the easy reading of the text, the book has profound meaning for the nature of business in America, with implications for political philosophy and economic theory. There isn't a businessman in the country who would not profit from the reading of this important book. --Angus MacDonald, BOOK REVIEWS

The MYTH OF THE ROBBER BARONS is... excellent. . . . In short, this book is the perfect supplement to most standard economic and business history textbooks. this reviewer has adopted it already. --Larry Schweikart, THE HISTORIAN

I read this book in one sitting. In spite of the easy reading of the text, the book has profound meaning for the nature of business in America, with implications for political philosophy and economic theory. There isn't a businessman in the country who would not profit from the reading of this important book. --Angus MacDonald, BOOK REVIEWS

The MYTH OF THE ROBBER BARONS is... excellent. . . . In short, this book is the perfect supplement to most standard economic and business history textbooks. this reviewer has adopted it already. --Larry Schweikart, THE HISTORIAN

I read this book in one sitting. In spite of the easy reading of the text, the book has profound meaning for the nature of business in America, with implications for political philosophy and economic theory. There isn't a businessman in the country who would not profit from the reading of this important book. --Angus MacDonald, BOOK REVIEWS

The MYTH OF THE ROBBER BARONS is... excellent. . . . In short, this book is the perfect supplement to most standard economic and business history textbooks. this reviewer has adopted it already. --Larry Schweikart, THE HISTORIAN

I read this book in one sitting. In spite of the easy reading of the text, the book has profound meaning for the nature of business in America, with implications for political philosophy and economic theory. There isn't a businessman in the country who would not profit from the reading of this important book. --Angus MacDonald, BOOK REVIEWS

The MYTH OF THE ROBBER BARONS is... excellent. . . . In short, this book is the perfect supplement to most standard economic and business history textbooks. this reviewer has adopted it already. --Larry Schweikart, THE HISTORIAN

I read this book in one sitting. In spite of the easy reading of the text, the book has profound meaning for the nature of business in America, with implications for political philosophy and economic theory. There isn't a businessman in the country who would not profit from the reading of this important book. --Angus MacDonald, BOOK REVIEWS

About the Author

Burton W. Folsom, Jr. is the Charles Kline professor of history and management at Hillsdale College in Michigan. He received his Ph. D. from the University of Pittsburgh, and has taught U. S. history at the University of Nebraska, the University of Pittsburgh, Murray State University, and Northwood University. He has also been a senior fellow at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, Michigan; and historian in residence at the Center for the American Idea in Houston, Texas. He has written articles for the WALL STREET JOURNAL, THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR, POLICY REVIEW, and HUMAN EVENTS. Professor Folsom's first book was Urban Capitalists. His later books include Empire Builders, No More Free Markets or Free Beer: The Progressive Era in Nebraska. He has two edited books, The Spirit of Freedom and The Industrial Revolution and Free Trade. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Southern History, Pacific Historical Review, Journal of American Studies, Great Plains Quarterly, The American Spectator, and The Wall Street Journal. He is a columnist on economic history for The Freeman for Ideas on Liberty.

Product Details

• Paperback: 170 pages
• Publisher: Young America's Foundation (1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963020315
• ISBN-13: 978-0963020314
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Business & Investing > Economics > Economic History
  • #1 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Americas > United States > 20th Century
  • #5 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Americas > United States > General

More About the Author

Burton W. Folsom is a professor of history at Hillsdale College in Michigan and senior historian at the Foundation for Economic Education in Irvington, New York. He is a regular columnist for The Freeman and has written articles for The Wall Street Journal and American Spectator, among other publications. He lives in Michigan.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

107 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Robber Barons" Ought to be Called "Productive Geniuses", May 11, 2008

By 

Doug (Washington D.C. area) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Myth of the Robber Barons: A New Look at the Rise of Big Business in America (Paperback)

Burton Folsom's The Myth of the Robber Barons is a short, but excellent book that argues that the mislabeled "Robber Barons" of the 19th century became wealthy not because they robbed anyone but because they offered quality products/services at record low prices. These productive giants made their fortunes because so many Americans chose to do business with them.

There are several values to gain from this book. First, you will learn several inspiring stories about how great industrialists amassed their fortunes through ingenuity, extended dedication and taking great calculated risks. You will learn about how Cornelius Vanderbilt defeated the Fulton NY/NJ steamship-transport monopoly by offering lower rates, earning a reputation for his punctuality, investing in faster and larger ships and providing ancillary services such as concessions. You will also learn about how Andrew Carnegie was obsessed with cutting costs, which led to him profitably carting off tons of steel shavings discarded from a competing steel plant owned by the Scrantons. Other business heroes covered in depth in this book are James J. Hill (who built the Great Northern Railroad without a penny of Federal aid), oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, the Scranton steel family, Carnegie's right hand man Charles Schwab and Andrew Mellon, the Secretary of the Treasury whose laissez-faire policy recommendations allowed the 1920s to roar.

Another great value of this book is that it dispels a few common myths about capitalism. For one, Folsom correctly identifies that "Robber Barons" is an invalid concept. That is, "Robber Barons" includes market entrepreneurs (i.e., those who *created* their fortunes by revolutionizing an industry) with political entrepreneurs (i.e., those who made their fortunes through government aid or with political connections.) Examples of market entrepreneurs include Carnegie, Rockefeller, Hill, and Vanderbilt. Examples of political entrepreneurs include Henry Villard and Leland Stanford. Instead of subsuming all wealthy industrialists under a single category, Folsom suggests that we instead judge these industrialists based on *how* they made their fortunes.

A final great aspect of this book is that it offers a concise, essentialized history of what made these individuals great. Thus, an avid reader may absorb a healthy amount of introductory material without committing himself to reading an 800-paged biography.

If you enjoy this book, then I also highly recommend both Burton Folsom's "Empire Builders" and Andrew Bernstein's "The Capitalist Manifesto". To a lesser extent, I also recommend H. W. Brands' "Masters of Enterprise."

52 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great antidote to common history texts, January 5, 2004

By 

E. Husman "ehusman" (Las Cruces, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Myth of the Robber Barons: A New Look at the Rise of Big Business in America (Paperback)

Folsom picks out six success stories - of Vanderbilt's success against government-chartered monopolies, of the Scranton's success in challenging English steel manufacturers, of J. J. Hill's victory over subsidized transcontinentals and subsequent undoing by anti-trust laws and rate regulation, of Rockefeller's nearly unknown struggle against foreign oil, of Charles Scwhabb's rise and fall as a steel manufacturer, and of Andrew Mellon's success as a taxcutting Treasury Secretary - and uses these to illustrate how historians lump economic entrepreneurs and political entrepreneurs together, and fail to teach us the correct lessons. Economic entrepreneurs are those whose vision, energy, talent, and willingness to take risk increase the size of the pie for all, while political entrepreneurs are those who beg for public assistance, squander it, resort to graft and influence peddling, and bring the wrath of the public down upon their ears as well as upon the economic entrepreneurs. Usually, it is the economic entrepreneurs that take the worst beating. In his effort to show the positive contributions of these individuals, Folsom fails to answer or even tell some of the infamy associated with men such as Vanderbilt ... but then, one of the points that he makes is that mainstream history books are full of this type of innuendo and rumor.

The reviewers complaining about the oversights fail to appreciate Folsom's intended audience or purpose. He is specifically pointing out problems with history texts, not trying to write an unassailable, definitive history of each of these industries.

58 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for members of any political party!, June 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Myth of the Robber Barons: A New Look at the Rise of Big Business in America (Paperback)

After reading the earlier review (below this one), I must say that I enjoyed this book immensely, and I am not a Conservative, and especially not a member of the Religious Right. This book sets the record straight about the "Robber Barons" and the attacks on them by the Muckrakers. It should be read by people of various political stands, whether they are Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Moderate, etc. I loved the chapters detailing the success stories of Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt, James Jerome Hill, Charles M. Schwab, the Scrantons, John D. Rockefeller Sr., and Andrew Mellon. I must admit that I sort of wished there were also chapters on J. P. Morgan and Thomas Fortune Ryan, since I'm very curious about them. Anyway, reading this book really made me reflect on what I learned in school, and forced me to think about whether my teachers' moral condemnation of these entrepreneurs was actually justified. This book really makes you think.