Peter Cooper Quotes
I cannot shut my eyes to the fact that the production of wealth is not the work of any one man, and the acquisition of great fortunes is not possible without the co-operation of multitudes of men.
Peter Cooper, 1791-1883, Inventor, manufacturer and philanthropist, Founder, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York, Inventor & Manufacturer of the First American Locomotive, the Tom Thumb, Commencement Address, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York City, May 31, 1871
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Every economically successful American had help in amassing is fortune. The police who protected his assets, the roads and canals on which he transported his goods to market and obtained raw material. The labor force that was educated by the state. The patent system that protected his inventions. The money supply that has been made available, the registry of land and property ownerships and deeds. The courts to resolve disputes. The general affluence of the nation to buy his product or services. These have been paid for by the taxes of all Americans. All have helped the successful on their journey to wealth and their ability to keep it from those who would use violence to take it. The successful entrepreneur however has usually made extraordinary effort and exhibited extraordinary talent and skill which is why not everyone is as affluent. No one lifted themselves up by their own bootstraps, but many have with their own talent and work, climbed a very difficult ladder that the nation had in place.
It has been the blue collar worker who has borne the economic brunt of globalization in the industrial democracies. It was their jobs who moved off shore, their wages that were under pressure from low wage workers in emerging nations.
The “competition of the poor included the political and social activism competition.”
Webster was taking regular bribes from large corporations and even complained when his payments were late. So he might have had a pro-large business bias. At the time taking bribes even if there was a quid pro quo was not illegal or even “unethical” by then Congressional rules.
Peter Cooper was an American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and politician. He designed and built the first American steam locomotive, the Tom Thumb, founded the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, and served as the Greenback Party's candidate in the 1876 presidential election.
