"In contrast to the slow, almost creeping pace of the factory owners in the race for wealth, the railroad owners sprang at once into the lists of mighty wealth-possessors, armed with the most comprehensive and puissant powers and privileges, and vested with a sweep of properties beside which those of the petty industrial bosses were puny. -Gustavus Myers, History of the Great American Fortunes, Vol. II The History of the Great American Fortunes, Vol. II (1910), by Gustavus Myers, is the second of three volumes in the original edition of a trilogy that attempted to document the corruption and wrongdoing that enabled the creation of great fortunes in 19th century America. Volume II focuses on the individuals who amassed great wealth from the building of the railroads.