Empire Builders

Years ago a friend gave me a pile of books that I am now working my way through. Burton W. Folsom, Jr.'s book Empire Builders: How Michigan Entrepreneurs Helped Make America Great is a text that could easily be used in high schools. The overarching message is an economic one- private ownership trumps government run business. A great set of case studies that could be placed side by side by others to look at that concept in an economics course.

The chapter that I really enjoyed, however, was on John Jacob Astor, a man I had never heard of, who was the richest man in the country at one point in his life. He created a fur trading empire that successfully competed with the federal government. John C. Calhoun worked against him. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was involved. It is an interesting snapshot of what was going on in the "wilderness" of the territory of Michigan. Both a cautionary tale and a rags to riches tale, it might inspire some students to pursue entrepreneurialship.

I would not be surprised to hear that people running Trump's 2016 campaign are referring to the text with their slogan- Make America Great Again. It definitely positively paints the ultra-wealthy businessmen as the path to greatness for a region. This would be an interesting enrichment project for a student looking to go into greater depth.

The book is an easy read. Each chapter stands well on its own. It offers a very positive glimpse of wealth in America. Sections would be an interesting contrast to the writings of Henry James or political cartoons from the Gilded Age.

If you can find the book, an interesting read.