Corporations are Un-American

Note that you can read the free book Gangs of America online. You can read the first 7 chapters in html, and/or download the whole pdf. (Page numbers below refer to the pdf version.)

America's founders hated Corporations

The book documents how America's founders were vehemently anti-corporation, and that free corporations didn't exist till after the civil war. Plus it documents their rise to power, including via errors in court cases and corruption in the courts.

For instance, page 123 begins a section showing that the Santa Clara decision did not give corporations "personhood", although pro-corporation courts keep citing it. (Personhood always meant corporations were entities that could sign contracts, be taxed and sued.)

America's founders were well aware of the evils of corporations. They were well aware that the huge corporation British East India Company, was powerful enough to put pressure on King Charles to give it a monopoly on tea imported into America. It was their tea that was dumped into the harbor at the Boston Tea Party.

Until after 1860, a corporation could only be:

• chartered (created) for a specific purpose
• by an individual state or the federal government
• for a specific amount of time,
• was not allowed to buy another company or its stock, and
• was not allowed to change its name.

These restrictions began to be lifted after the civil war. After 75 years of independence from corporations, Americans had forgotten how powerful and corrupt corporations could be. With the trauma and huge expense of the Civil War, America was desperate for growth and prosperity, so governments were especially susceptible to the lobbyists of the new railroad corporations and their wealth. The easing of the restrictions on corporations was the beginning of the railroad monopolies. (See chapter 6, "The Genius", page 72, of Gangs of America)

Part of corporations' efforts to gain power and influence government includes spreading the falsehood that the petition clause of the Constitution protects lobbying. It does not. See my essay Lobbying is Un-American.