Originally published in 1910, a primary source for the business and development of American power in the nineteenth century.  As Myers describes in his preface, it was the fashion in the early twentieth century to write of the multi-millionaires in an unfavorable light, as if they were all robber barons and had no social conscience.  In his history he was attempting to be more realistic in his perspective.   Volume one tells of the colonization of America and the large land grants and the great land fortunes.   Volumes two and three cover the great fortunes from railroads, with extensive material on J. P. Morgan in relation to that category.  Gustavus Myers (1872-1942) was an American historian who worked on a number of newspapers and magazines in New York City, joined the Populist party and the Social Reform Club, and was a member (1907-12) of the Socialist party.  Such books as The History of Tammany Hall (1901), History of the Great American Fortunes (1910), and History of the Supreme Court of the United States (1912) were detailed, realistic exposes through which Myers made his reputation in the muckraking era of American literature.

History of the Great American Fortunes

Business & Money

Gustavus, Myers

Economics

Kerr Pubns

Geschichte Der Grossen Amerikanischen Vermogen

History

BiblioLife

History of the Great American Fortunes, Vol. 1: Part I: Conditions in Settlement and Colonial Times; Part II: The Great Land Fortunes (Classic Reprint)

In writing this work my aim has been to give the exact facts as far as the available material allows. Necessarily it is impossible, from the very nature of the case, to obtain all the facts. It is obvious that in both past and present times the chief beneficiaries of our social and industrial system have found it to their interest to represent their accumulations as the rewards of industry and ability, and have likewise had the strongest motives for concealing the circumstances of all those complex and devious methods which have been used in building up great fortunes. In this they have been assisted by a society so constituted that the means by which these great fortunes have been amassed have been generally lauded as legitimate and exemplary. The possessors of towering fortunes have hitherto been described in two ways. On the one hand, they have been held up as marvels of success, as preeminent examples of thrift, enterprise and extraordinary ability. More recently, however, the tendency in certain quarters has been diametrically the opposite. This latter class of writers, intent upon pandering to a supposed popular appetite for sensation, pile exposure upon exposure, and hold up the objects of their diatribes as monsters of commercial and political crime. Neither of these classes has sought to establish definitely the relation of the great fortunes to the social and industrial system which has propagated them.(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally

Reference

Forgotten Books

Ye Olden Blue Laws

A review from The Medical Pickwick, Vol. 7:  TO understand why the writers of the Constitution used the expression, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," it is essential to appreciate their traditions and forensic background. This is well exhibited in a study of the old laws of Colonial days.  To realize the reversion to type manifest in the efforts at restrictive legislation, one needs but read the excellent compilation of the early history of the kill-joy movement designed to regulate, direct, supervise and control personal and social relationships of the early Colonists, save those of great influence, considerable wealth, or members of the ministry.  Early social and economic reforms were designed to restore the prestige of the church which had been weakened because of the low standards of the early ministerial group. The ministers sought to legislate morality and spirituality for their human flocks with a degree of failure that finally eventuated in the recognition that social living was beyond the control of clerical dictation.  After reading of the early struggles of the Colonists one is less filled with admiration for the days of the Puritans or the Pilgrims, nor is there much desire to emulate the standards of the early settlers of Connecticut or Virginia. The joyous days of compulsory church attendance; the ministerial domination that extended from death for unbelievers to press censorship; the constant unsuccessful struggle to banish tobacco; the development of the spy system to facilitate the punishment of errant adults and children; the grotesque attempts to control personal attire and the use of finery; the vigorous but useless endeavor to subjugate youthful sports fail to arouse any enthusiasm for ye ancient days. There is a wealth of suggestion, however, that present day tendencies to inaugurate a new era, if successful, might bring about a return to the primitive intolerance, narrow-mindedness, and bigotry which characterized Colonial existence.  The diatribes against Sunday pleasures, the enjoyment of the theatre, sports, plays, and recreations of childhood, the efforts at the dogmatic censorship of match-making and wooing are finding weak imitations in our day and generation under the guise of religious elevation.  This compilation of early blue laws is peculiarly timely and merits thoughtful consideration by those who are interested in human happiness. One has the feeling, after reading the book, that the Sabbatarians might well be termed "Sabbaterriers" who are growling, barking, and snapping at human institutions because man is taking too much pleasure in existence, when he should feel more like a dog.  Present day interest lies in the fact, as Mr. Myers points out, that there is a marked parallelism between some of the programs for instituting a new set of Blue Laws and many of the old laws whose effect was blighted and thwarted by common sense public opinion.

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Excerpt from History of the Great American Fortunes, Vol. 1: Part I: Conditions in Settlement and Colonial Times; Part II: The Great Land FortunesThis being so, our plutocrats rank as nothing more or less than as so many unavoidable creations of a set Of processes which must imperatively produce a certain set of results. These results we see in the accelerated concentration of immense wealth running side by side with a propertyless, expropriated and exploited multi tude.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

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