Hear That Lonesome W

One of Dee Browns books that i have not read, and i was not disappointed an excellent story told in Dee Browns own inimitable way. Excellent.

This is a heartfelt and highly interesting read that details the creation of America's transcontinental railroads from the men who spawned them down to those who built and later rode them to a new life. The problem is that Dorris Alexander "Dee" [who can blame him for assuming that nickname] Brown was a bitter man, in no small part because of his youthful acquaintance with American Indians that led him to write I Buried My Heart at Wounded Knee. He found little good about the railroad industry and even blamed them for the passing of the wild and wooly western frontier. True, but so what? That the railroads came into existence with inadequate governmental control cannot be denied, but his negativity is annoying. I am still in the process of researching this aspect of American history and possibly could come to buy into all his arguments, but I am suspicious that Brown did not examine all the facts. Nothing of this nature could be 100% bad. For certain, transportation advances are a vital reason why the United States became the richest country the world has ever known. Even Brown had to admit that railroad-spawned immigration turned the American heartland into a bread basket for the entire world. Seems to me that alone was worth the price of admission. The book is well worth reading, but keep an open mind.

This short history of western railroads starts with the Rock Island bridge across the Mississippi. Abraham Lincoln's inspection of that accident scene allowed a win (pp.10-12). This resulted in commerce moving from Chicago to New York, and not down the river to New Orleans. It tells about the financial exploitation and scheming that was part of the construction. Towns often took on debt to subsidize railroads even thought their promises often failed (Chapter 1). Chapter 2 tells of the many plans to create a railroad that would reach the Pacific. Politics and self-interest were as common then as today. Various Indian tribes were swindled out of their lands in the 1850s (pp.37-38). Military actions by the Confederates resulted in a northern route (Chapter 3). Brown explains the Credit Mobilier scam which billed for construction at inflated prices. People paid taxes to enrich swindlers (p.71). The newspapers cast the Plains Indians as villains for defending their hunting lands. Brown doesn't mention that the "Wild West Cowboy" was invented or exaggerated by journalists for entertainment and propaganda (pp.84-85). He does describe the lives of the workmen (pp.106-107). Chapter 6 has the Great Race to connect to the Pacific and the use of Federal monies. It appeared to be more popular than the Federal Highway projects in the 1950s. The railroad connection bound the nation together. Traveler had more to fear from train robbers than Indians (p.151). Chapter 8 describes the men who worked on the railroad trains. Chapter 9 tells of the piracy of the railroad promoters and managers as a rising class (p.183). This must have been the biggest swindle of the century (pp.184-185). Was this the first case of a corporation winning favor from Congress after donating company shares (p.187)? [This seems worse than the "High Tech" stock swindles of the late 1990s.] Chapter 10 explains the Indian Wars cause when the Northern Pacific Railroad invaded unceded Indian lands (p.205). The response from Washington was to threaten annihilation or genocide. Over spending brought down Jay Cooke & Company and led to the worst depression yet experienced (p.217). Fred Harvey's chain of restaurants demonstrated the results of good management (p.225). Chapter 12 discusses the immigrants who came west on the railroads. Land companies learned to transport "entire colonies" of families whose shared language and customs sustained each other (p.241). The advertising used to attract immigrants often promised more than they delivered (pp.244-245). The Mennonites brought their "Turkey Red" wheat to Kansas and created amber waves of grain (p.249). Mechanization created surplus workers in Scandinavia. Germany allowed emigration for fear of a revolution (p.252). Lands settled during rainy years suffered during years of drought or locusts (p.253). James Bryce tells about the wealth and power of the "railway kings". Henry Villard's excursion was counter-productive (p.261). Chapter 13 tells ho

One should not be surprised that railroad companies in a capitalist country are run to produce profits rather than for the good of the country. There is no astonishment that railroads in the United States were seen as money machines, and the natural monopolies of railroading were exploited to the max. However, railroads were widely seen as being good for the United States--and indeed the railroads provided the United States with a heightened sense of national unity as well as great economies in transportation.Dee Brown does an admirable job of narrating the inherit contradictions involved in the story of the transcontinental railroads--"the good of the country" and "$$ for a few". The story does not stop once the first transcontinental railroad is built, either. Dee Brown describes effects on Native Americans, immigrant populations, tourists, farmers, and others.The book is readable--good high school students should be able to handle it. There are also lots of vintage photographs, which add to the value. I'm not a professional historian, so I can't judge some things. The book is still in print after twenty-five years, and there's a reason for that: it's good.