ncludes bibliographical references (pages 625-660) and index.

he rise of the moguls. Speculation as martial art -- One nation under rails -- The first triumvirate -- Toil and trouble -- Frontiers of enterprise. The conquest of the South -- Lakotas last stand -- Profits on the hoof -- To make the desert bloom -- Gotham and Gomorrah. The teeming shore -- Cities of the plain -- Below the El -- The finest government money can buy. School for scandal -- The spirit of 76 -- Lives of the parties -- Capital improvements -- The decade of the century. Meet Jim Crow -- Affairs of the heartland -- The wages of capitalism -- Tariff bill and dollar mark -- Imperial dreams -- The apotheosis of Pierpont Morgan -- Epilogue: the democratic counterrevolution.

Chronicle of how a few wealthy businessmen reshaped America from a land of small farmers and small businessmen into an industrial giant.