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Article: Monopolies (Issue)
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History
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MONOPOLIES
(ISSUE)
The American Civil War (1861
–
1865) made it possible for men of varying degrees of ability to become wealthy overnight. During the postwar decades these new fortunes were used for the exploitation of natural resources and for industrial development. Men such as Andrew Carnegie (1835
–
1919) and John D. Rockefeller (1839
–
1937) became folk heroes, although in Rockefeller's case, there were also many who feared and despised him. Few laws regulated competition and few taxes were levied on their profits. In time some of these men exerted considerable influence on their state legislatures and on their senators. Even the philosophy of the age was tailored ...