As industrialism was fast approaching and the first transcontinental railway was about to be completed, Collis P. Hunterington made a mockery of his investments in the railroad-building venture which would become one of America’s most oppressive monopolies. Huntington was a well-known railroad magnate. However his actions were deemed iniquitous. Collis Huntington, although a successful businessman, was an advocate for philanthropic causes. But he was also a robber baron as he governed the Central Pacific Railroad empire. This created a defacto monopoly. And he often bribed politicians using money.
Collis Patrick Huntington was born in Harwinton on 22 October 1821. Huntington was equally as ingenious as he were penurious. In fact, Huntington had already become a very wealthy merchant by the time that he turned twenty-one. Huntington, along with a few of his brothers, were removed from the poverty of their family by local farmers who were able to provide for them. Huntington was described as strong and brave. He sought a job with the San Franciscan Gold Rush of 1848. He came to Sacramento to make a living selling mine equipment. Huntington spent time in Sacramento selling equipment and also investing in Theodore Judah’s plan for a transcontinental railroad. Huntington is a poor man who rises to power despite being poor. They dominate industries in the Gilded Age and become a monopoly. Huntington, three other investors and known as “Big Four”, built an empire in the railroad ad business. Huntington was a strong leader in the construction industry. Huntington bought more companies in the transportation business, and when Huntington took control of the majority American transportation services, they increased their prices. This created a recession in American’s economy, while Huntington received large sums. Ben Ratliff (a famed American journalist) examined the effects of the Big Four on America’s economy. He concluded that they had created a defacto monopoly over California shipping. They established control in San Francisco and made it impossible for retailers and producers to compete with the Southern Pacific Railroad’s high prices or leave their product in the warehouse. Ben Ratliff’s research shows that Huntington and his four fellow investors made a profit by creating a monopoly, which unjustly caused other businesses failure. Huntington, as you will see in the passage, was able grow his control over transportation and created a defactomonopoly which had a negative economic impact on the country. Huntington was one of the leaders in the growth of the industry. However he was also well-known as a scheming criminal against his associates. He was a skilled subjugator of the railroad industry and also expanded his control over the North American Continent. George Miles of the New York Times, 1898, confirmed Huntington and his friends continued to build railroad tracks that ran 3,200 miles from Oregon up to New Orleans. Following the construction of railroad lines in Old Mexico, Guatemala and Oregon, thousands of branches were cut. Huntington, however, was building a huge scheme to build the south independently, even as the railroad company was moving westward. His expansion to the East gave him immense power (“COLLIS P. HAUNTINGTON”). In 1896, Huntington published a paper that analyzed all of the railroads he had built and the way in which they were expanding his power on the North American continent. Huntington, who grew in power in the railroad industry, gained more power by building his railroads along the East Coast. Huntington’s expansion in America can be described as a robber-baron act.
Because congress had such a huge impact on economics, these multi-millionaires with no scruples were often involved in political bribery. Huntington, along with his associates, was able to influence both the state and federal legislatures in order to prevent them from pursuing their lucrative interests. Matthew Josephson, an American historian and political author who first defined the term “robber baron” has stated that Huntington is:
The country was divided into baronies and the social capitals were overthrown. They also accessed the schools and churches. However, the industrial captains maintained a constant watchful eye on the political arena. Public opinion was open to the pecuniary ideas of the industrial magnate or railway operator, and it seemed to accept his entry, through government, into the highest bodies of the country: Congress, Senate, President’s cabinet, and sometimes the President himself. (Josephson, 347)
Matthew Josephson in 1934 examined Huntington’s behavior and found that they would be watching politics closely to gain influence at the highest levels. Huntington was an example of railroad magnates that benefited from corruptive bribery to secure their best business. Josepgson’s claim is supported by Gladwin, New York Times Journalist. Gladwin Hill wrote that Huntington was primarily a façade of respectability to facilitate some of most severe ravaging of public funds and systematic political corruption — of which Huntington was a leading practitioner.” (“The Great Persuader”) Gladwin Hill asserts that Huntington was heavily involved in corruption because of his lobbyist actions. This is to gain financial growth. Richard White is a prominent American Historian who describes Huntington’s tendencies like a criminal baron. White, 691, says Huntington’s philanthropic activities would have been recognized only if it came at the price of lobbyism. Richard White’s observations reveal Huntington’s tendency towards charity, but only at cost of lobbyism. Huntington’s corruptive involvement with politics ultimately made his actions immoral. Huntington was an outstanding lobbyist in his day because of his corrupt business practices, which earned him the title “robber baron”.
Huntington was an admirable man who did great work for his workers and supported charitable causes. However, Huntington is best known for being a robberbaron. This was due to the dominant role he played in the transportation business that was also influenced by federal bribery. Huntington is a robber-baron because he seized control of the business, but he kept it that way through an oppressivemonopoly. Other businesses were forced to follow his lead and Huntington became an economic powerhouse. Huntington was nevertheless a key figure in the founding of the first transcontinental railway. His contributions helped make the idea of coast-to-coast transportation possible. Even though his motives might not have been moral, his contributions to American railroads are forever remembered.
