Profiting from the plains : the Great Northern Railway and corporate development of the American West / Claire Strom.

Includes bibliographies and index.

Trial and error, 1878-1893 -- Cooperation and Success, 1893-1902 -- "The nation's future," 1902-1907 -- Conflict and disillusion, 1907-1912 -- Isolation and expertise, 1907-1912 -- Retirement and retreat, 1912-1916 -- "The voice of the northwest."

"Profiting from the Plains looks at two inextricably linked historical movements in the United States: the westward expansion of the Great Northern Railway and the agricultural development of the northern plains. Claire Strom explores the persistent, idiosyncratic attempts by the Great Northern to boost agricultural production along its rail routes from St. Paul to Seattle between 1878 and 1917. Lacking a federal land grant, the Great Northern could not make money through land sales like other railways. It had to rely on haulage to make a profit, and the greatest potential for increasing haulage lay in farming." "This story of railroad politics and development ties into themes of corporate and federal sponsorship, which are increasingly recognized as fundamental to western history. As the first scholarly examination of James J. Hill's agricultural enterprises, Profiting from the Plains makes an important contribution to the biography of the popular and controversial Hill, as well as to western and environmental history."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Incorporated All Rights Reserved.

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