Summary
Susan Berfield follows Theodore Roosevelt and J. P. Morgan through two crises at the start of the twentieth century. Roosevelt’s government challenges Morgan’s Northern Securities railroad combination in court. At the same time, a major coal strike threatens the country’s fuel supply. The book examines their conflict and cooperation as public authority and private business power meet.
Why read it Our view
Read it to consider how a business’s private plans can become a public concern. The railroad dispute and coal crisis show leaders working across legal, financial and political pressures, with interests that can conflict even when they need to cooperate.
Written about
- J.P. MorganHistorical subjectMorgan is a central subject of Berfield’s account of the Northern Securities antitrust dispute and the coal strike during Roosevelt’s presidency.Source