2. The Railroading of the American People - a podcast by Murray N. Rothbard

The railroads experienced both enormous growth and enormous government intervention. Land was closed off from settlement, causing farmers to oppose the privileged railroads. Markets were skewed. Waste and inefficiencies were high. Graft and corruption were rampant. Only the Great Northern by James Hill was built with private monies. It became the of the few transcontinental railroads not to go bankrupt.

Lecture 2 of 13 presented in Fall of 1986 at the New York Polytechnic University.

The full series:

The Civil War and Its LegacyThe Railroading of the American People The Decline of Laissez-FaireThe Rise and Fall of MonopoliesPietism and the Power BrokersTariffs, Inflation, Anti-Trust and CartelsTheodore Roosevelt: Master ReformerRegulation and Public UtilitiesThe Progressive Era?Cartelization of Banking: The FedWoodrow Wilson and World War IThe Great CooperationPolitics and the Power Elite

Further episodes of The American Economy and the End of Laissez-Faire: 1870 to World War II

Further podcasts by Murray N. Rothbard

Website of Murray N. Rothbard