Author: Burton Folsom
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 succeeded by producing a quality product at a competitive price. The political entrepreneurs were men who used the power of government to succeed. The market entrepreneurs helped lead the rise of the U. S. as a major economic power. The political entrepreneurs, by contrast, were a drain on the taxpayers and a thorn in the side of the market entrepreneurs. This book is in its fifth edition, and is widely adopted in college and high school classrooms across the U. S.
