In this volume, Michael P. Malone provides a succinct interpretive biography of James J. Hill, the "Empire Builder"-so called for his work in developing the region of the United States between the Great Lakes and the Pacific Northwest. Malone explores Hill’s complex life and personality, his activities and interests, and recreates both the story of the railroad race to the Pacific and the complex interactions involved in the development of the region. "Michael Malone has written a model. . . .interpretative biography of James J. Hill. He has drawn on the research of others, published and unpublished, as he says, but also on his own knowledge of American economic development in Hill’s time as a leading historian of mining and of a state in whose development Hill’s railroads were major factors." -Earl Pomeroy, Professor of History, Retired, University of Oregon and University of California, San Diego
In this volume, Michael P. Malone provides a succinct interpretive biography of James J. Hill, the "Empire Builder"-so called for his work in developing the region of the United States between the Great Lakes and the Pacific Northwest. Malone explores Hill's complex life and personality, his activities and interests, and recreates both the story of the railroad race to the Pacific and the complex interactions involved in the development of the region. "Michael Malone has written a model. . . .interpretative biography of James J. Hill. He has drawn on the research of others, published and unpublished, as he says, but also on his own knowledge of American economic development in Hill's time as a leading historian of mining and of a state in whose development Hill's railroads were major factors." -Earl Pomeroy, Professor of History, Retired, University of Oregon and University of California, San Diego
James J. Hill (1838-1916), the Empire Builder, created a vast railroad network across the northwestern United States. In this splendid biography, Martin, the first researcher to have access to Hill's voluminous correspondence, richly portrays a man of many parts: an entrepreneur, a family man, a collector of notable French paintings, a promoter of scientific agriculture, and a booster for the Northwest.
In 1901, the Northern Pacific was an unlikely prize: a twice-bankrupt construction of the federal government, it was a two-bit railroad (literally—five years back, its stock traded for twenty-five cents a share). But it was also a key to connecting eastern markets through Chicago to the rising West. Two titans of American railroads set their sights on it: James J. Hill, head of the Great Northern and largest individual shareholder of the Northern Pacific, and Edward Harriman, head of the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific. The subsequent contest was unprecedented in the history of American enterprise, pitting not only Hill against Harriman but also Big Oil against Big Steel and J. P. Morgan against the Rockefellers, with a supporting cast of enough wealthy investors to fill the ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria. The story, told here in full for the first time, transports us to the New York Stock Exchange during the unfolding of the earliest modern-day stock market panic. Harriman vs. Hill re-creates the drama of four tumultuous days in May 1901, when the common stock of the Northern Pacific rocketed from one hundred ten dollars a share to one thousand in a mere seventeen hours of trading—the result of an inadvertent “corner” caused by the opposing forces. Panic followed and then, in short order, a calamity for the “shorts,” a compromise, the near-collapse of Wall Street brokerages and banks, the most precipitous decline ever in American stock values, and the fastest recovery. Larry Haeg brings to life the ensuing stalemate and truce, which led to the forming of a holding company, briefly the biggest railroad combine in American history, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against the deal, launching the reputation of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes as the “great dissenter” and President Theodore Roosevelt as the “trust buster.” The forces of competition and combination, unfettered growth, government regulation, and corporate ambition—all the elements of American business at its best and worst—come into play in the account of this epic battle, whose effects echo through our economy to this day.
The Great Northern Iron trust leased its lands on the Mesabi iron formation to various mining companies that shipped 721 million tons of natural iron ore and taconite to eastern steel mills from 1907 to 2017 - nearly 15% of the Mesabi's entire historical output. The royalties received were disbursed to the trust's investors - nearly $400 for each of the 1,500,000 shares in the trust - totaling $561 million over its long life. The investors received their trust shares in 1906 as free gifts because they were stockholders of James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway (the predecessor of today's BNSF Railway). These securities were the first from a Minnesota business to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange.The distinctive history of Great Northern Iron is presented for the first time in this book. It is based on the Trust's extensive original archival records and in-depth interviews with its last trustees, managers, and other participants. With nearly 90,000 words and more than 160 historic photos, images, tables, reports, maps, and other materials, many of which have never been made public before, this book also features four specially commissioned large, fold-out color aerial maps and cross-sections that depict in exceptional detail the entire mining landscape of the 100-mile Mesabi Iron Range.Great Northern Iron is a compelling story about daring and entrepreneurship on the Mesabi Range and northeastern Minnesota. It is also an essential reference book about the nation's most important iron mining region. There may be no better source for learning about one of the vital natural resources that provided the foundation for contemporary American life.
From the time he was 18 in St. Paul, James J. Hill (1838-1916) dreamed of a ship and rail bridge to the riches of the mysterious Orient. Through a succession of jobs, he absorbed every detail of moving goods by land and by water, which contributed to the excellent management and low-cost operation of his railroad empire. He made financial history by shaping the Northern Securities Co., a holding device dissolved by the Supreme Court in 1904. As founder of the Great Northern Railway, Hill was an American railroad icon and one of Ayn Rand's industrialist heroes. After his retirement, he wrote "Highways of Progress," originally published in 1910, and toured the country speaking about the virtues of capitalism and a hard work ethic. Near the end of his life, James J. Hill was asked by a newspaper reporter to reveal the secret of his success. Hill responded with characteristic bluntness, "Work, hard work, intelligent work, and then more work." Hill became a pivotal force in the transformation of the Northwest as his railroad served as the backbone of American settlement, agricultural development and commercial expansion. Book jacket.
When the Dandelions Sing "When the Dandelions Sing," is a warm, heartfelt story about a young boy named Ronnie Jefferson McFarland Jr., who is trying to understand the meaning of the word "purpose", and what his purpose is in life. His grammy, who nicknames him Jasper for some reason known only to her, and his grandad, give him valuable lessons through their own eyes, and a window to the past that sometimes gets overshadowed by bigger things in life, but never truly forgotten. While Ronnie's momma struggles with her life, he leans on others around him to gain perspective and a sense of understanding. He learns that even after people leave his world, their impact remains, and he never stops learning from them. As it turns out, some of the best lessons in life come from those who seemingly have nothing left to give. Ronnie learns that a family is not always conventional, but oftentimes made up of the people you choose for yourself, and who choose you in return. He discovers that joy can be found in the smallest of things and the simplest of moments...for even among a field of perfect flowers, the simple dandelion can sing. Everything has purpose, and everything, a meaning beyond what we are even meant to understand. That's just the way it is. Purpose is not what we want it to be. It's simply what is meant to be.
To Americans living in the early twentieth century, E. H. Harriman was as familiar a name as J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie. Like his fellow businessmen, Harriman (1847-1909) had become the symbol for an entire industry: Morgan stood for banking, Rockefeller for oil, Carnegie for iron and steel, and Harriman for railroads. Here, Maury Klein offers the first in-depth biography in more than seventy-five years of this influential yet surprisingly understudied figure. A Wall Street banker until age fifty, Harriman catapulted into the railroad arena in 1897, gaining control of the Union Pacific Railroad as it emerged from bankruptcy and successfully modernizing every aspect of its operation. He went on to expand his empire by acquiring large stakes in other railroads, including the Southern Pacific and the Baltimore and Ohio, in the process clashing with such foes as James J. Hill, J. P. Morgan, and Theodore Roosevelt. With its new insights into the myths and controversies that surround Harriman's career, this book reasserts his legacy as one of the great turn-of-the-century business titans. Originally published 2000. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
