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{{Short description|American historian}}
{{notability|Academics|date=January 2016}}
'''Burton W. Folsom Jr.''' (born 1947 in [[Nebraska]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[historian]] and author who holds the [[Charles F. Kline]] chair in history and management at [[Hillsdale College]].
'''Burton W. Folsom Jr.''' (born 1947, in [[Nebraska]]) is an American [[historian]] and author who held the Charles F. Kline chair in history and management at [[Hillsdale College]] from 2003 until his retirement in December 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hillsdalecollegian.com/2016/10/folsom-retire-december/|title=Folsom to retire in December|last=Novelly|first=Thomas|date=2016-10-06|website=Hillsdale Collegian|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-05}}</ref>


==Biography==
==Biography==
Folsom received his BA from Indiana University in 1970, his M.A. from the University of Nebraska in 1973, and his [[Doctor of Philosophy|doctorate]] in [[history]] from the [[University of Pittsburgh]] in 1976. Since 1988 he has edited ''Continuity: a Journal of History''. He is a frequent columnist in the [[libertarian]] ''Freeman'' magazine and also contributes to other publications, writing in favor of free market economics and limited government. He taught American history at [[Murray State University]] (KY) from 1976 to 1994.
Folsom received his B.A. from Indiana University in 1970, his M.A. from the University of Nebraska in 1973, and his [[Doctor of Philosophy|doctorate]] in [[history]] from the [[University of Pittsburgh]] in 1976. Since 1988 he has edited ''Continuity: A Journal of History''. He is a frequent columnist in the [[libertarian]] ''Freeman'' magazine and also contributes to other publications, writing in favor of free market economics and limited government. He taught American history at [[Murray State University]] in Kentucky from 1976 to 1994.


Folsom is a former associate of the [[Free Enterprise Institute]] and the [[Mackinac Center for Public Policy]], both [[free market]] [[think tanks]], and a frequent guest of the [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] organization [[Foundation for Economic Education]].
Folsom is a former associate of the Free Enterprise Institute and the [[Mackinac Center for Public Policy]], both [[free market]] [[think tanks]], and a frequent guest of the [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] organization [[Foundation for Economic Education]].


==Academic contributions==
==Writings==
Folsom has written several books that [[Historical revisionism|revise]] commonly held views about the role of [[capitalism]] in the social developments of the [[Industrial Revolution]] and the [[Gilded Age]]. He believes the term [[Robber baron (industrialist)|robber barons]] is a misnomer, and that many leaders in big business were constructive visionaries who benefited consumers and were integral to the development of industry.<ref>{{YouTube|4Vw6uF2LdZw|The Myth of the Robber Barons with Burt Folsom}} ''Freedom University: History Summer Seminar'' June 30, 2011. Retrieved July 22 2011</ref>
Folsom has written several books that argue against commonly held views about the role of [[capitalism]] in the social developments of the [[Industrial Revolution]] and the [[Gilded Age]]. He believes the term [[Robber baron (industrialist)|robber barons]] is a misnomer, and that many leaders in big business were constructive visionaries who benefited consumers and were integral to the development of industry.<ref>{{YouTube|4Vw6uF2LdZw|The Myth of the Robber Barons with Burt Folsom}} ''Freedom University: History Summer Seminar'' June 30, 2011. Retrieved July 22 2011</ref>


In his book ''The Myth of the Robber Barons'', Folsom distinguishes between ''political entrepreneurs'', who ran [[inefficiency|inefficient]] businesses supported by government favors, and ''market entrepreneurs'', who succeeded by providing better and lower-cost products or services, usually while facing vigorous [[competition]].
In his book ''The Myth of the Robber Barons'', Folsom distinguishes between ''political entrepreneurs'', who ran [[inefficiency|inefficient]] businesses supported by government favors, and ''market entrepreneurs'', who succeeded by providing better and lower-cost products or services, usually while facing vigorous [[competition]].
Line 25: Line 25:
* [[Warren Buffett]]<ref>Folsom's talk to The National Conservative Student Conference, on Monday, August 4, 2008</ref>
* [[Warren Buffett]]<ref>Folsom's talk to The National Conservative Student Conference, on Monday, August 4, 2008</ref>


Folsom has written about economics and US history for several large publications, including the [[Wall Street Journal]] and the [[National Review]].<ref name=“WSJ2010”>{{cite web |url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304024604575173632046893848|title= Did FDR End the Depression?| first = Burton | last = Folsom |work= The Wall Street Journal}}</ref><ref name=“NatRev2011”>{{cite web |url = http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/273770/two-forces-work-us-one-good-and-one-bad-burt-folsom|title= Two Forces at Work in the US: One Good, One Bad| first = Burton | last = Folsom |work= The National Review}}</ref> In a 2010 WSJ editorial co-authored with his wife Anita, Folsom argues that FDR's [[New Deal]] did not contribute to economic recovery and may have actually exacerbated the [[Great Depression]]. Folsom argues that the New Deal did little more than trade temporary relief for crippling tax rates and mountains of debt, and the post-war recovery is better attributed to the role-back of taxes and government regulations imposed under the New Deal.<ref name="WSJ2010"/>
Folsom writes about economics and US history for several large publications, including ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' and the ''[[National Review]]''.<ref name="WSJ2010">{{cite news |url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304024604575173632046893848|title= Did FDR End the Depression?| first = Burton | last = Folsom |work= The Wall Street Journal|date= 12 April 2010}}</ref><ref name="NatRev2011">{{cite web |url = http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/273770/two-forces-work-us-one-good-and-one-bad-burt-folsom|title= Two Forces at Work in the US: One Good, One Bad| first = Burton | last = Folsom |work= The National Review|date= 5 August 2011}}</ref> In a 2010 ''Wall Street Journal'' editorial, Folsom argues that the [[New Deal]] did not contribute to economic recovery and may have actually exacerbated the [[Great Depression]]. Folsom argues that the New Deal did little more than trade temporary poverty relief for crippling tax rates and mountains of debt, and that the post-war recovery is best attributed to the rollback of taxes and regulations imposed under the New Deal.<ref name="WSJ2010"/>

Folsom has created several short videos for the conservative educational website [[Prager University]]. His lessons focus on the history of American economic development and entrepreneurs such as [[John D. Rockefeller]]:
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHfsk8iL_C0 Why Is America So Rich?]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xg4Uq1W4L8 Why Private Investment Works and Government Investment Doesn't]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYqrFBm7qdA Rockefeller: The Richest American Who Ever Lived]


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
===Articles===
⚫
* ''Entrepreneurs Vs. the State'' (1989) ISBN 0-89526-573-7
* "The Politics of Elites: Prominence and Party in Davidson County, Tennessee, 1835–1861." ''Journal of Southern History'' 39.3 (1973): 359–378. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2206256 online]
⚫
* ''The Myth of the Robber Barons'' (1993) ISBN 0-9630203-1-5
* "Party Formation and Development in Jacksonian America: The Old South." ''Journal of American Studies'' 7.3 (1973): 217–229.
⚫
* ''Empire Builders: How Michigan Entrepreneurs Helped Make America Great'' (1998) ISBN 1-890394-06-8
* "Entrepreneurs and City Growth: Scranton and Carbondale as Case Studies." ''Business and Economic History'' (1980): 124–127.
⚫
* ''No More Free Markets or Free Beer: The Progressive Era in Nebraska, 1900–1924'' (1999) ISBN 0-7391-0014-9
* "Like Fathers, Unlike Sons: The Fall of the Business Elite in Scranton, Pennsylvania, 1880–1920." ''Pennsylvania History'' 47.4 (1980): 291–309. [https://journals.psu.edu/index.php/phj/article/download/24197/23966 online]
⚫
* ''Urban Capitalists: Entrepreneurs and City Growth in Pennsylvania's Lackawanna and Lehigh Regions 1800–1920'' (2005) ISBN 0-940866-94-3
* "Tinkerers, Tipplers, and Traitors: Ethnicity and Democratic Reform in Nebraska during the Progressive Era." ''Pacific Historical Review'' 50.1 (1981): 53–75. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3639338 online]
⚫
* ''New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America'' (2008) ISBN 1-4165-9222-9
* "Immigrant Voters and the Nonpartisan League in Nebraska, 1917–1920." ''Great Plains Quarterly'' (1981): 159–168. [http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2905&context=greatplainsquarterly online]
⚫
* ''FDR Goes to War: How Expanded Executive Power, Spiraling National Debt, and Restricted Civil Liberties Shaped Wartime America'', 2011, ISBN 978-1-4391-8320-5
* "The Minimum Wage's Disreputable Origins." ''Wall Street Journal'' (1998): A-22.
⚫
* ''A Republic – If We Can Keep It'' (with [[Lawrence Reed]], CreateSpace, 2012)<ref>[https://www.createspace.com/3730352 A Republic – If We Can Keep It]</ref>
* Boudreaux, Donald J., and Burton W. Folsom. "Microsoft and Standard Oil: Radical lessons for antitrust reform." ''The Antitrust Bulletin'' 44.3 (1999): 555–576.
* McCormick, Blaine, and Burton W. Folsom. "A survey of business historians on America's greatest entrepreneurs." ''Business History Review'' 77.4 (2003): 703–716.

===Books===
⚫
* ''Entrepreneurs vs. the State'' (1989) {{ISBN|0-89526-573-7}}
⚫
* ''The Myth of the Robber Barons'' (1993) {{ISBN|0-9630203-1-5}}
⚫
* ''Empire Builders: How Michigan Entrepreneurs Helped Make America Great'' (1998) {{ISBN|1-890394-06-8}}
⚫
* ''No More Free Markets or Free Beer: The Progressive Era in Nebraska, 1900–1924'' (1999) {{ISBN|0-7391-0014-9}}
⚫
* ''Urban Capitalists: Entrepreneurs and City Growth in Pennsylvania's Lackawanna and Lehigh Regions 1800–1920'' (2005) {{ISBN|0-940866-94-3}}
⚫
* ''New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America'' (2008) {{ISBN|1-4165-9222-9}}
⚫
* ''FDR Goes to War: How Expanded Executive Power, Spiraling National Debt, and Restricted Civil Liberties Shaped Wartime America'', 2011, {{ISBN|978-1-4391-8320-5}}
⚫
* ''A Republic – If We Can Keep It'' (with [[Lawrence Reed]], CreateSpace, 2012)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.createspace.com/3730352 |title=A Republic – If We Can Keep It |access-date=2013-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305021936/https://www.createspace.com/3730352 |archive-date=2016-03-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


==Footnotes==
==Footnotes==
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==External links==
==External links==
* {{C-SPAN| Burton Folsom }}
* {{C-SPAN|31539}}

* {{Goodreads author}}
{{authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Folsom, Burton W. Jr.}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Folsom, Burton W. Jr.}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American academics]]
[[Category:21st-century American historians]]
[[Category:American historians]]
[[Category:American libertarians]]
[[Category:American libertarians]]
[[Category:Libertarian historians]]
[[Category:Libertarian historians]]
[[Category:American political writers]]
[[Category:American political writers]]
[[Category:American male writers]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Hillsdale College faculty]]
[[Category:Hillsdale College faculty]]
[[Category:Murray State University faculty]]
[[Category:Murray State University faculty]]
[[Category:University of Pittsburgh alumni]]
[[Category:University of Pittsburgh alumni]]
[[Category:Mackinac Center for Public Policy]]

Latest revision as of 01:51, 28 March 2022

Burton W. Folsom Jr. (born 1947, in Nebraska) is an American historian and author who held the Charles F. Kline chair in history and management at Hillsdale College from 2003 until his retirement in December 2016.[1]

Biography

[edit]

Folsom received his B.A. from Indiana University in 1970, his M.A. from the University of Nebraska in 1973, and his doctorate in history from the University of Pittsburgh in 1976. Since 1988 he has edited Continuity: A Journal of History. He is a frequent columnist in the libertarian Freeman magazine and also contributes to other publications, writing in favor of free market economics and limited government. He taught American history at Murray State University in Kentucky from 1976 to 1994.

Folsom is a former associate of the Free Enterprise Institute and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, both free market think tanks, and a frequent guest of the libertarian organization Foundation for Economic Education.

Academic contributions

[edit]

Folsom has written several books that argue against commonly held views about the role of capitalism in the social developments of the Industrial Revolution and the Gilded Age. He believes the term robber barons is a misnomer, and that many leaders in big business were constructive visionaries who benefited consumers and were integral to the development of industry.[2]

In his book The Myth of the Robber Barons, Folsom distinguishes between political entrepreneurs, who ran inefficient businesses supported by government favors, and market entrepreneurs, who succeeded by providing better and lower-cost products or services, usually while facing vigorous competition.

Folsom identifies the following people as market entrepreneurs:

He regards these people as political entrepreneurs:

Folsom writes about economics and US history for several large publications, including The Wall Street Journal and the National Review.[4][5] In a 2010 Wall Street Journal editorial, Folsom argues that the New Deal did not contribute to economic recovery and may have actually exacerbated the Great Depression. Folsom argues that the New Deal did little more than trade temporary poverty relief for crippling tax rates and mountains of debt, and that the post-war recovery is best attributed to the rollback of taxes and regulations imposed under the New Deal.[4]

Folsom has created several short videos for the conservative educational website Prager University. His lessons focus on the history of American economic development and entrepreneurs such as John D. Rockefeller:

Bibliography

[edit]

Artikel

[edit]
  • "The Politics of Elites: Prominence and Party in Davidson County, Tennessee, 1835–1861." Journal of Southern History 39.3 (1973): 359–378. online
  • "Party Formation and Development in Jacksonian America: The Old South." Journal of American Studies 7.3 (1973): 217–229.
  • "Entrepreneurs and City Growth: Scranton and Carbondale as Case Studies." Business and Economic History (1980): 124–127.
  • "Like Fathers, Unlike Sons: The Fall of the Business Elite in Scranton, Pennsylvania, 1880–1920." Pennsylvania History 47.4 (1980): 291–309. online
  • "Tinkerers, Tipplers, and Traitors: Ethnicity and Democratic Reform in Nebraska during the Progressive Era." Pacific Historical Review 50.1 (1981): 53–75. online
  • "Immigrant Voters and the Nonpartisan League in Nebraska, 1917–1920." Great Plains Quarterly (1981): 159–168. online
  • "The Minimum Wage's Disreputable Origins." Wall Street Journal (1998): A-22.
  • Boudreaux, Donald J., and Burton W. Folsom. "Microsoft and Standard Oil: Radical lessons for antitrust reform." The Antitrust Bulletin 44.3 (1999): 555–576.
  • McCormick, Blaine, and Burton W. Folsom. "A survey of business historians on America's greatest entrepreneurs." Business History Review 77.4 (2003): 703–716.

Books

[edit]
  • Entrepreneurs vs. the State (1989) ISBN 0-89526-573-7
  • The Myth of the Robber Barons (1993) ISBN 0-9630203-1-5
  • Empire Builders: How Michigan Entrepreneurs Helped Make America Great (1998) ISBN 1-890394-06-8
  • No More Free Markets or Free Beer: The Progressive Era in Nebraska, 1900–1924 (1999) ISBN 0-7391-0014-9
  • Urban Capitalists: Entrepreneurs and City Growth in Pennsylvania's Lackawanna and Lehigh Regions 1800–1920 (2005) ISBN 0-940866-94-3
  • New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America (2008) ISBN 1-4165-9222-9
  • FDR Goes to War: How Expanded Executive Power, Spiraling National Debt, and Restricted Civil Liberties Shaped Wartime America, 2011, ISBN 978-1-4391-8320-5
  • A Republic – If We Can Keep It (with Lawrence Reed, CreateSpace, 2012)[6]

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ Novelly, Thomas (2016-10-06). "Folsom to retire in December". Hillsdale Collegian. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  2. ^ The Myth of the Robber Barons with Burt Folsom on YouTube Freedom University: History Summer Seminar June 30, 2011. Retrieved July 22 2011
  3. ^ Folsom's talk to The National Conservative Student Conference, on Monday, August 4, 2008
  4. ^ a b Folsom, Burton (12 April 2010). "Did FDR End the Depression?". The Wall Street Journal.
  5. ^ Folsom, Burton (5 August 2011). "Two Forces at Work in the US: One Good, One Bad". The National Review.
  6. ^ "A Republic – If We Can Keep It". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
[edit]
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