History of America’s One Percent – Episode #24

In this podcast series we dive into the long and shadowy history of America’s ruling elite through the works of authors who were either silenced, suppressed, or forgotten, to discover the origins of the 1% and from where their power and wealth was, and still is, extracted.

Each recording will be approx. 1 hour in length to allow for easy consumption of the material.  The narrator will only interrupt the reading to provide insight, spell names, read informative footnotes, or provide definitions for archaic words.

---

In this episode – Continued reading of History of Great American Fortunes by Gustavus Myers.  Includes Part III, Chapter IV:  The Onrush of the Vanderbilt Fortune, continued.  No Criminal Charges for Vanderbilt.  Congress Pathetically Offers Up a Resolution Censuring Him and Others.  Vanderbilt Exerts Political Influence to Have His Name Removed From the Resolution.  Vanderbilt Expunged, His Agent Southard Takes the Fall.  New Unbelievable Lows of Fraud: Afflicted Horses “Doctored Up” and Sold to the Cavalry.  Vanderbilt Begins Buying Stock in the New York and Harlem Railroad.  New York and Harlem Franchise Obtained Through Bribery.  The Atrocious Safety Records of the Railroads.  Corporations Not Responsible for Loss of Life: Transportation Accidents as a Means to Drive Down Stock Prices. Vanderbilt Bribes the Common Council for a Perpetual Franchise.  George Law and Vanderbilt’s Bribery Battle for Control of the Broadway Line.  Law Bribes the State Legislature, Vanderbilt Bribes the Common Council.  The City Aldermen Hatch a Scheme to Fleece Vanderbilt.  They Give Vanderbilt a Franchise That Will Not Pass Legal Scrutiny.  The Aldermen Secretly Short the New York and Harlem Stock.  The Outcome of This Plot.  He Grasps Up a Second Railroad: The New York and Hudson Line.  He Attempts to Consolidate the Two Railroads Through Legislative Act.  Another Plot Against Vanderbilt.  His Acquisition of the New York Central Railroad.  The Public Suffers So Stock Prices Can Be Depressed.  Vanderbilt Outmatches Cunard, Astor, Steward and Others.

Streaming provided by Imgrush.com | Download (66mb) | LoBandwidth (17mb)

Click Here for a complete list of episodes in this podcast.
You can also stream the episodes from Archive.org
For more information on the author of this book Click Here.

PART III, CHAPTER IV – FOOTNOTES, cont’d.

Triumphant Plutocracy – Episode #10

An insiders view on how bankers, corporations, and lawyers took over the United States Government and became the “Rulers of America” during the Gilded Age.  Written with true authority by a man who had a front row seat for it all, R. F. Pettigrew was the first senator from the state of South Dakota, and he made no friends during his time in the US Congress. These are his memoirs.

---

In this episode – Continued reading of Triumphant Plutocracy by Richard Franklin Pettigrew,  including Chapter XII: Politics.  A Case Study of the Fraudulent Nature of Politics.  Making Enemies.  Using Political Influence to Threaten Others.  How Bribes Work: Sergeant-at-Arms for the Two Houses are the Bagmen for Buying Votes.  How Politicians Scheme to Get Rich From Their Power.  Assisting With Plunder to Gain Re-Election: Appointing Friends of Powerful People.  Granting Political Favors for Financial Gain: An Example Involving County Seats.  The Tremendous Money to be Made From Locating State Capitals.  Congressional Investigations of Corruption as a Shakedown Tactic.  Nelson Aldrich: Sergeant-At-Arms of the Senate.  Connections and Political Favors: How Knowing a Lawyer, Who Helped Appoint a Judge, Can Keep Your Ass Out of Prison.  Pettigrew Withdraws From Re-Election to Spite a Political Rival.

Streaming provided by Archive.org | Download (45mb) | LoBandwidth (11mb)

You can also stream the episodes from Archive.org
For more information on the author of this book Click Here.

History of America’s One Percent – Episode #23

In this podcast series we dive into the long and shadowy history of America’s ruling elite through the works of authors who were either silenced, suppressed, or forgotten, to discover the origins of the 1% and from where their power and wealth was, and still is, extracted.

Each recording will be approx. 1 hour in length to allow for easy consumption of the material.  The narrator will only interrupt the reading to provide insight, spell names, read informative footnotes, or provide definitions for archaic words.

---

In this episode – Continued reading of History of Great American Fortunes by Gustavus Myers.  Includes Part III, Chapter IV:  The Onrush of the Vanderbilt Fortune.  The Civil War Disrupts Marine Commerce.  Steamship Lines Try to Dispose of Their Fleets.  The Terrible Condition of These Vessels.  Worthless Ships Pawned Off On the Navy Department For a Profit.  Indiscriminate Plunder of the Soldiers During the War.  Faulty Weapons Maim and Kill the Soldiers They Are Issued To.  Spoiled Rations Sold to the Army.  Military Contractors Kill a Great Number of the Soldiers With Their Supplies.  The Patriotism of the Great Magnates, So-Called.  The Draft Act Amended to Let Great Capitalists Escape the Battlefields.  The Purchasing of “Substitutes” to Take the Rich Man’s Place on the Field of Combat. Vanderbilt the Glorious “Patriot.”  Vanderbilt Selected By Secretary of War Stanton, to Assist Government With Purchasing Worthless Ships.  Vanderbilt Grossly Overpays for the Ships if the Sellers Surrender a 10% Fee.  No Precautions Taken to Safeguard the Lives of Union Soldiers.  Vanderbilt Directly Responsible for Putting Hundreds of Soldiers Lives In Peril.

Streaming provided by Archive.org | Download (57mb) | LoBandwidth (15mb)

Click Here for a complete list of episodes in this podcast.
You can also stream the episodes from Archive.org
For more information on the author of this book Click Here.

PART III, CHAPTER IV – FOOTNOTES.

History of America’s One Percent – Episode #22

In this podcast series we dive into the long and shadowy history of America’s ruling elite through the works of authors who were either silenced, suppressed, or forgotten, to discover the origins of the 1% and from where their power and wealth was, and still is, extracted.

Each recording will be approx. 1 hour in length to allow for easy consumption of the material.  The narrator will only interrupt the reading to provide insight, spell names, read informative footnotes, or provide definitions for archaic words.

---

In this episode – Continued reading of History of Great American Fortunes by Gustavus Myers.  Includes Part III, Chapter III:  The Beginnings of the Vanderbilt Fortune, continued.  Vanderbilt the Foremost Pirate and Blackmailer of His Day.  His Exploitation of the Government’s Steamship Mail Subsidies.  Millions Made From Corrupting Postal Officials.  Government Funds Pay For Building of Entire Commercial Fleets.  E. K. Collins & Co. Line’s Enormous $1 Million Per Year Subsidies.  Postal System $5,000,000 In Debt By 1858.  Vanderbilt & Collins in Congressional Bribing War.  Indications That Their Competition Was a Facade.  Allegations Surface On Secret Agreement Over California Mail Subsidies.  Vanderbilt’s Huge Pay-Off: $56,000 Per Month of Tax-Payer Money, to Not Compete In California.  Congressional Testimony Blows The Lid Off Vanderbilt’s Blackmail Scam During the Covode Committee.  Vanderbilt Never Arrested or Charged.  He Retires From the Steamship Business in the 1860’s; His Millions In Blackmail Funds Intact.

Streaming provided by Imgrush | Download (70mb) | LoBandwidth (18mb)

Click Here for a complete list of episodes in this podcast.
You can also stream the episodes from Archive.org
For more information on the author of this book Click Here.

PART III, CHAPTER III – FOOTNOTES, cont’d.

Triumphant Plutocracy – Episode #9

An insiders view on how bankers, corporations, and lawyers took over the United States Government and became the “Rulers of America” during the Gilded Age.  Written with true authority by a man who had a front row seat for it all, R. F. Pettigrew was the first senator from the state of South Dakota, and he made no friends during his time in the US Congress. These are his memoirs.

---

In this episode – Continued reading of Triumphant Plutocracy by Richard Franklin Pettigrew,  including Chapter X: Who Made the Constitution.  The Plutocracy Becomes the Masters of Government.  Plans Prepared By Business Men to Stabilize Business Interests.  The American Idea of Government Was the British Idea of Government.  The Constitution Was Not Drawn Up to Safeguard Liberty.  The Constitutional Convention Held In Secret.  The Secret Debates of the Constitutional Convention Published a Half-Century Later.  Thomas Jefferson Sent to France During the Drafting of the Constitution.  Constitution Protects Slavery.  States Refused to Ratify the Constitution.  Jefferson Returns From France to Throw Weight Behind Amendments. Reading of Chapter XI: Lawyers.  Lawyers In Domination of the Federal Government.  Why Are Both Houses of Congress Packed With Lawyers?  Why Are Most of Our Presidents Lawyers?  Why Are Most Judges Lawyers?  A Lawyer, By Training and Practice, Serves the Ruling Class.  A Good Lawer Studies “Precedent.”  Precedent is Simply the Continuation of the Status Quo.  Precedent Based on the Common Law of England.  Trained in the Wisdom of the Seventeenth Century.  Lawyers Can Not Think Into the Future, So They Protect Things As They Are.  The Lawyer Is One of the Few Who Can Take a Bribe, and Call It a Fee.  Common Law Derived From the Landed Aristocracy of Great Britain.  Pettigrew Recounts Stories of Fellow Senators Taking Bribes While In Congress.  The Practice Excites Little Comment Because It Is So Common.  Lawyers Should Be Excluded From the Bench, and All Branches of Government.

Streaming provided by Imgrush | Download (60mb) | LoBandwidth (15mb)

You can also stream the episodes from Archive.org
For more information on the author of this book Click Here.

History of America’s One Percent – Episode #21

In this podcast series we dive into the long and shadowy history of America’s ruling elite through the works of authors who were either silenced, suppressed, or forgotten, to discover the origins of the 1% and from where their power and wealth was, and still is, extracted.

Each recording will be approx. 1 hour in length to allow for easy consumption of the material.  The narrator will only interrupt the reading to provide insight, spell names, read informative footnotes, or provide definitions for archaic words.

---

In this episode – Continued reading of History of Great American Fortunes by Gustavus Myers.  Includes Part III, Chapter III:  The Beginnings of the Vanderbilt Fortune.  Vanderbilt’s Monumental Fortune of $105,000,000.  Most of His Wealth Amassed in His Last 15 Years.  Wealth as Power.  The Dynasty’s Holdings at the Turn of the 20th Century: $600M in Stocks & $700M in Bonds.  Their Interests in Banks, Railroad, and Corporations.  The American Industrialists as Monarchs.  Kings Had No Proof of Divine Right, But Industrial Monarchs Have Stocks and Bonds.  Armed Garrisons Not Required to Secure the Possessions in Their Vast Empires.  Government As the Armed Forces of Big Business. The Vanderbilt Patriarch: Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt.  His Humble Beginnings in the Sailing Trade.  He enter the Steamboat Business in 1829.  Cutting Rates to Bankrupt Competitors.  Public Applauds His Rate Cuts As Great Benefit.  Rates Hiked Once Monopoly Is Obtained.  His Methods in Driving Out Competitors: Bribing the New York Common Council.

Streaming provided by Imgrush | Download (55mb) | LoBandwidth (14mb)

Click Here for a complete list of episodes in this podcast.
You can also stream the episodes from Archive.org
For more information on the author of this book Click Here.

PART III, CHAPTER III – FOOTNOTES.

Triumphant Plutocracy – Episode #8

An insiders view on how bankers, corporations, and lawyers took over the United States Government and became the “Rulers of America” during the Gilded Age.  Written with true authority by a man who had a front row seat for it all, R. F. Pettigrew was the first senator from the state of South Dakota, and he made no friends during his time in the US Congress. These are his memoirs.

---

In this episode – Continued reading of Triumphant Plutocracy by Richard Franklin Pettigrew,  including Chapter IX: Plutocracy.  The Power Over American Public Life in the Hands of the Rich.  The Meaning of Plutocracy.  The New “Golden Rule.”  Rockefeller accumulates $1 Billion in Fifty Years.  The Census of 1890 and the Distribution of Wealth.  1915: 2% of Population Owns 60% of Wealth.  Pettigrew Tries to Make Surveying the Distribution of Wealth a Permanent Function of the Census Bureau.  Pettigrew Talks About the Invisible Government.

Streaming provided by Imgrush | Download (44mb) | LoBandwidth (11mb)

You can also stream the episodes from Archive.org
For more information on the author of this book Click Here.

FIGURES & CHARTS FROM CHAPTER VIII

History of America’s One Percent – Episode #20

In this podcast series we dive into the long and shadowy history of America’s ruling elite through the works of authors who were either silenced, suppressed, or forgotten, to discover the origins of the 1% and from where their power and wealth was, and still is, extracted.

Each recording will be approx. 1 hour in length to allow for easy consumption of the material.  The narrator will only interrupt the reading to provide insight, spell names, read informative footnotes, or provide definitions for archaic words.

---

In this episode – Continued reading of History of Great American Fortunes by Gustavus Myers.  Includes Part III, Chapter II:  A Necessary Contrast, continued.  The Numerous Reports of Fraud From the Land Office Commissioner, Sparks.  Foreign Corporations Gobble Up Red-Wood Land In California.  Surveying Fraud, Land Pre-Emption, and Homesteader Cutouts.  Incorruptible Public Officials Removed From Office.  Huge Land Frauds From Mexican Patents. 8.5 Million Acres of Fraudulent Mexican Land Grants in New Mexico Alone.  Stephen B. Elkins Makes an Appearance.  Investigation By U.S. Surveyor General Uncovers Blatant Forgery.  “Foreigners of Large Means” Gobble Up Texas Land.  Two British Syndicates Hold 7.5 Million Acres of Texas Land.  Land-Grabbing an Election Issue in 1880.  Almost All Farming Land In Private Ownership According to Gov’t Report in 1930.  Railroad Corporations the Single Largest Holders of Land in 1928.  The Serf Nation: 50% of American Farms Operated By Tenants in 1916.  American Feudalism Is Back Baby!

Streaming provided by Imgrush | Download (73mb) | LoBandwidth (19mb)

Click Here for a complete list of episodes in this podcast.
You can also stream the episodes from Archive.org
For more information on the author of this book Click Here.

PART III, CHAPTER II – FOOTNOTES, cont’d.