Iron Empires

Robber Barons, The Railroads, and the Making of Modern America

New Hardback Illustrated

Postscript summary

In 1869, with the US still recovering from Civil War, the Transcontinental Railroad was completed. Michael Hiltzik shows how, over the next four decades, railroads would lure emigrants westwards, open new markets for manufacturers and transform sleepy hamlets into bustling towns; and while businessmen such as Cornelius Vanderbilt and Ned Harriman amassed wealth and power, speculators were bankrupted and financial systems were rocked.

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