A "stimulating" account of the capitalists who changed America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, setting the stage for the 1929 crash and Great Depression ( Kirkus Reviews).
In the decades following the Civil War, America entered an era of unprecedented corporate expansion, with ultimate financial power in the hands of a few wealthy industrialists who exploited the system for everything it was worth. The Rockefellers, Fords, Morgans, and Vanderbilts were the "lords of creation" who, along with like-minded magnates, controlled the economic destiny of the country, unrestrained by regulations or moral imperatives. Through a combination of foresight, ingenuity, ruthlessness, and greed, America's giants of industry remolded the US economy in their own image. They established their power and authority, ensuring that they-and they alone-would control the means of production, transportation, energy, and commerce-creating the conditions for the stock market collapse of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed.
As modern society continues to be affected by wealth inequality and cycles of boom and bust, it's as important as ever to understand the origins of financial disaster, and the policies, practices, and people who bring them on. The Lords of Creation, first published when the catastrophe of the 1930s was still painfully fresh, is a fascinating story of bankers, railroad tycoons, steel magnates, speculators, scoundrels, and robber barons. It is a tale of innovation and shocking exploitation-and a sobering reminder that history can indeed repeat itself.
Autorentext
Frederick Lewis Allen (1890-1954) was born in Boston, studied at Groton, and graduated from Harvard in 1912. He was assistant and associate editor of Harper's Magazine for eighteen years, then the magazine's sixth editor in chief for twelve years until his death. In addition to The Lords of Creation, Allen was well known for Only Yesterday, Since Yesterday, and The Big Change.
Zusammenfassung
An acclaimed classic detailing the economic history of America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and exposing the capitalist giants who changed the worldFrederick Lewis Allen's insightful financial history of the United Statesfrom the late 1800s through the stock market collapse of 1929remains a seminal work on what brought on America's worst economic disaster: the Great Depression. In the decades following the Civil War, America entered an era of unprecedented corporate expansion, with ultimate financial power in the hands of a few wealthy industrialists who exploited the capitalist system for everything it was worth. The Rockefellers, Fords, Morgans, and Vanderbilts were the lords of creation who, along with like-minded magnates, controlled the economic destiny of the country, unrestrained by regulations or moral imperatives. Through a combination of foresight, ingenuity, ruthlessness, and greed, America's giants of industry remolded the US economy in their own preferred image. In so doing, they established their absolute power and authority, ensuring that theyand they alonewould control the means of production, transportation, energy, and commercethereby setting the stage for the most devastating global financial collapse in history.As Gretchen Morgenson thoughtfully states in her introduction, It is not immediately clear why the frequency and severity of financial scandals is increasing in the United States. What is clear is that we need to understand the origins of these disasters, as well as the policies and people that bring them on. . . . While distant actions may seem unrelated to current events, rereading about the past almost always provides surprising insights into the present.The Lords of Creation, first published in the midst of the Great Depression, when the financial catastrophe was still painfully fresh, is a fascinating story of bankers, railroad tycoons, steel magnates, speculators, scoundrels, and robber barons.
Inhalt
- Dedication
- Contents
- Series Introduction
- Introduction
- Preface
- I. Morgan Calls the Tune
- II. The Harriman Challenge
- III. The Overlords
- IV. Panic
- V. Counter-Offensive
- VI. Pujo
- VII. War
- VIII. The Seven Fat Years
- IX. Building the Pyramids
- X. Bankers, Salesmen, and Speculators
- XI. Into the Stratosphere
- XII. The Overlords, 1929
- XIII. Downfall and Confusion
- XIV. All Change
- Appendix: Sources And Obligations
- Index
- About the Author