Collis Potter Huntington: Robber Baron Or A Captain Of Industry

Sometimes powerful businessmen aren’t always considered as captains of industry such as, Collis Potter Huntington. A robber baron, the opposite from a captain of industry, is an American capitalist who became wealthy through the exploration of natural resources, governmental influence, or low wage scales. Collis Huntington, a member of The Big Four, constructed the first transcontinental railroad in America. In The Big Four, Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford and Charles Crocker, Huntington was the most ruthless out of all in efforts to build the Railroad. So, should Collis Huntington be commemorated for his achievement in building America’s first transcontinental railroad or his savage pursuit to gain wealth and profit? I

He would give money to a Capitol, Oakes Ames, and Huntington would donate “…thousands of dollars to campaigns, legislators as attorneys and put lobbyists on the Central Pacific [Company] payroll” . Huntington’s reasoning behind funding government officials was to make a profit by, obtaining more money from Congress and land so, that he could succeed in his business by constructing the railroad. This is how Huntington made his money by getting land grants form the government and then selling shares. Also, Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Act, which gave federal aid to Central Pacific to construct the railroad east of Sacramento and the Union Pacific west of the Missouri River. Huntington at this time was in New York pressuring the Secretary of the Interior, Orville Browning, to approve Huntington’s suggestion on Utah’s territory because he wanted ownership of the town Ogden. Huntington’s response to his corruption was that “…we must use all the elements necessary to succeed, and as we shall always want more or less legislation…” . This shows that Collis P Huntington was a robber baron because he only thought of one thing, which was the amount of wealth he would earn. Also, he would do anything possible to