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The Big Four
Joint biography of the builders of the Central Pacific Railroad and its impact on California.
310 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1938
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About the author
Oscar Lewis
9 books3 followersOscar Lewis was one of the first historians to write seriously about the literary, cultural, and social history of the American West.
From his obituary:
https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/15/ar...
From his obituary:
https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/15/ar...
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 10, 2017
The Big Four were Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, Charles Crocker and Collis Huntington. They were they organizers and founders of the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads. They first came together to build and manage the Central Pacific Railroad which was the western part of the first transcontinental railroad finished in 1869. The Big Four became some of the richest and most powerful men in the whole country. This they achieved by a combination of efficient organization, ruthless competition, bribery and corruption. The corporations they controlled probably bought and owned more elected officials than ever before or since. In the 19th century it seemed that they bought every elected official in California.
The excesses of the Southern Pacific Railroad let to eventual regulation of transportation and commerce. Before controls on monopolies the Big Four set their freight charges to all "all the traffic would bear. They they kept their high rates just low enough that the merchants and farmers of California would not go bankrupt. It is no wonder that all four were so hated by the majority of the populace.
In spite of their practices they did some good. Leland Stanford is remembered for the University he endowed in memory of his son, Leland Stanford Jr. University. Crocker lives on in the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento and Huntington in the Huntington Library in Southern California. Mark Hopkins was no philanthropist but his name is memorialized in a San Francisco Hotel.
Oscar Lewis wrote The Big Four in 1938. At that time the excessive power of corporations had been limited by regulations. Now that power is back and Big Four reads like a very contemporary book.
'
The excesses of the Southern Pacific Railroad let to eventual regulation of transportation and commerce. Before controls on monopolies the Big Four set their freight charges to all "all the traffic would bear. They they kept their high rates just low enough that the merchants and farmers of California would not go bankrupt. It is no wonder that all four were so hated by the majority of the populace.
In spite of their practices they did some good. Leland Stanford is remembered for the University he endowed in memory of his son, Leland Stanford Jr. University. Crocker lives on in the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento and Huntington in the Huntington Library in Southern California. Mark Hopkins was no philanthropist but his name is memorialized in a San Francisco Hotel.
Oscar Lewis wrote The Big Four in 1938. At that time the excessive power of corporations had been limited by regulations. Now that power is back and Big Four reads like a very contemporary book.
'
February 15, 2022
The Big Four is one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco. This history of the most famous 19th Century Bay Area villains fills in all the gaps. This era in California politics was corrupt, monopolistic and full of fascinating characters of whom the Big Four stand out. Interestingly, they were very different from one another and disliked each other. Stanford for whose son the university was named, was governor of California and none too bright. Hopkins, the smartest, preferred a small bungalow to a Nob Hill Mansion.
You will get to know all four of these big shots plus how their company, The Central Pacific Railroad had a stranglehold on the golden state’s economy and politics. Read Frank Norris’s, The Octopus, to learn how this affected the Californians whose businesses depended on freight.
You will get to know all four of these big shots plus how their company, The Central Pacific Railroad had a stranglehold on the golden state’s economy and politics. Read Frank Norris’s, The Octopus, to learn how this affected the Californians whose businesses depended on freight.
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June 16, 2019In 1961, Dr. Ray Swank suggested I read this history, written by Oscar Lewis of San Francisco, a man I knew through membership in the Roxburghe Club. One review begins: The "Big Four" were Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, Charles Crocker and Collis Huntington, the last sharply watching over how intensively do they all work and being the most devoted to his desk of the four. They were the organizers and founders of the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads. They first came together to build and manage the Central Pacific Railroad which was the western and most difficult portion of the first transcontinental railroad finished in 1869.
The Big Four became some of the richest and most powerful men in the whole country. This they "achieved by a combination of efficient organization, ruthless competition, bribery and corruption." Reprinted at least fifteen times by Knopf, the Lewis history is outstanding in compressing what must have been thousands of published documents, government records, newspaper reports, and private records into a very human history demonstrating the character and personality differences of the Big Four.
What a masterful job did Oscar Lewis produce from a ton of varied documents, a host many of which were probably deeply biased. It was not feasible for me to fully grasp it all, lacking background in political economy and lacking a picture of how over forty some years the benefits of completing a railroad link from Nebraska to California preserved the nation and formed California into a strength within the republic.
To track and fully understand history, I'd like Lewis on pages 20 to 27 to be more specific as to when historic meetings took place. On page 283, Lewis writes the Four Partners in 1861 had lent support to Judah's dubious gamble [as equal partners]. In late 1874, General Colton was chosen as a fifth limited partner. (The panoramic illustration after page 272 depicts the ground-breaking of January 8, 1863.)
This superb biography and history, from a scholarly point of view seems more a colorful painting than a graphic photograph. It is not a political analysis, nor an economic history, nor a sociological portrayal of four decades. Rather, it places the Big Four businessmen at Stage Front with their speech, actions, and methods on display.
Though the Big Four were colorful, prominent, a team of sharp businessmen so prevalent in that era, the book is perhaps more a story of the key post-Gold Rush half century which turned California into a solid picturesque Western anchor to the Republic, the Four businessmen merely the face begetting admiration and despise from the policies and singular power of the huge dominating Iron Horse.
The Big Four became some of the richest and most powerful men in the whole country. This they "achieved by a combination of efficient organization, ruthless competition, bribery and corruption." Reprinted at least fifteen times by Knopf, the Lewis history is outstanding in compressing what must have been thousands of published documents, government records, newspaper reports, and private records into a very human history demonstrating the character and personality differences of the Big Four.
What a masterful job did Oscar Lewis produce from a ton of varied documents, a host many of which were probably deeply biased. It was not feasible for me to fully grasp it all, lacking background in political economy and lacking a picture of how over forty some years the benefits of completing a railroad link from Nebraska to California preserved the nation and formed California into a strength within the republic.
To track and fully understand history, I'd like Lewis on pages 20 to 27 to be more specific as to when historic meetings took place. On page 283, Lewis writes the Four Partners in 1861 had lent support to Judah's dubious gamble [as equal partners]. In late 1874, General Colton was chosen as a fifth limited partner. (The panoramic illustration after page 272 depicts the ground-breaking of January 8, 1863.)
This superb biography and history, from a scholarly point of view seems more a colorful painting than a graphic photograph. It is not a political analysis, nor an economic history, nor a sociological portrayal of four decades. Rather, it places the Big Four businessmen at Stage Front with their speech, actions, and methods on display.
Though the Big Four were colorful, prominent, a team of sharp businessmen so prevalent in that era, the book is perhaps more a story of the key post-Gold Rush half century which turned California into a solid picturesque Western anchor to the Republic, the Four businessmen merely the face begetting admiration and despise from the policies and singular power of the huge dominating Iron Horse.
June 1, 2017
Classic nonfiction at its finest. An extensive look into one of America's earliest and most complex transportation system- the railroads. It is easy for us to take for granted the actual scope that projects like these involved. Intriguing cast of characters, with names you will recognize, and their role in this early endeavor. This book touches on a host of topics still applicable today as well, such as immigrant labor, monopolies and the influence of big business in politics. An excellent, quick read for any American history buff!
May 2, 2010
Popular history of the Central Pacific Railroad as told through its leaders: the Big Four. Fun read and a good history of the domination of Callifornia by the railroad during the forty years following its completion in 1869.
December 11, 2014
Very interesting book on the four powerful men who established the Central Pacific in California and built a big part of the transcontinental RR. It later became the Southern Pacific.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews