On the Fact that (According to Burton Folsom's Classic Volume, "The Myth of the Robber Barons") In 1807, the New York State Legislature Granted Steamboat Tycoon, Robert Fulton, a 30-Year Monopoly On Steam Transportation for the Hudson River and Other Waterways

It was one of the most maddening acts of crony capitalism in U.S. history and yet when the majority of present-day historians talk about the "robber barons", they tend to leave out fellows like Fulton, Collins, Dodge, Stanford, Cooke, etc. who got ahead through parasitic and political methods and instead go after the true entrepreneurs (men like Hill, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, etc. who built their businesses by honestly competing in the market and not by pilfering the taxpayer). Talk about a bias against free enterprise.