Jack Beatty

A fresh look at the Gilded Age, when an oligarchy of wealth triumphed over democracy. At the end of the Civil War, with the rebellion put down and slavery ended, America belonged to Lincoln's "plain people." But "government of the people" and economic democracy were betrayed by political parties that fanned memories of the war to distract Americans from government of the corporation. Jay Gould, the "Mephisto of Wall Street," never runs for office,...