James J. Hill was a robber baron as opposed to being a captain of industry. In his early career he had appear to be a captain of industry, as he did provide a boost to the economy of his hometown, but those acts of goodness are overshadowed by the corrupt, or dishonest for personal gain, businesses practices he later exercised. Hill took advantage of immigrants looking to find homes. He attempted to gain complete control over many railroad companies. He and another robber baron, E.H. Harriman, formed a holding company, which is similar to a trust. Hill took advantage of people and did whatever possible to gain all that he could out of any opportunity thrown his way. James J. Hill was a robber baron because he looked out only for himself, and disregarded the needs of others in order to get more money. James J. Hill was born in Canada. In the year 1865 he arrived in Minnesota by steamboat with his sights on becoming a trapper and fur trader. After that didn’t pan out, and having been rejected by the Civil War due to a missing eye, he began working St. Paul and South Pacific Railroad. He learned about the business of selling, buying, and transporting resources and goods. Hill recognized that fuel was a problem for the railway. For this reason, he opened a business that sold coal to use as …show more content…
The stock market crashed. The crash forced Hill and Harriman to band together. Together they formed a holding company called Northern Securities, which is very similar to a trust. Due to this, Hill managed to keep his railroad, the Northern Pacific, through poor economic times, and continued charging whatever he needed to make a profit. There was no competition for Hill now that he had aligned with E.H. Harriman, who had proven to be his sole worthy rival. Eventually the holding company, Northern Securities had to be dissolved in 1904. We can thank the Sherman Anti-Trust Act for this, and the fact that the railroad system is no longer a