America’s Wealth Gap Through the Years

In “America’s Wealth Gap” (Nov/Dec 2012), writer Frederick Allen asks: “What is to be done about the yawning difference between the super rich and the rest of us?”

The Post was wrestling with similar questions in these 19th and 20th century articles from our archives.

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Corporate Corruption, 19th Century Style

President Andrew Jackson harbored a deep-seated distrust of banking and corporate influence. In this 1833 address to Congress, he shared his suspicion that the Bank of the United States intervened in local and national elections.

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One Year of Roosevelt

In 1902, reporter William Allen White summarized the first year under the Roosevelt Administration and predicted that Roosevelt’s politics would not be swayed by the rich.

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“Swollen Fortunes” in the Early 20th Century

In this 1906 article, author David Graham Phillips defended President Teddy Roosevelt’s attack on the corrupting power of the super rich.

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Is Roosevelt a Menace to Business?

In 1907, Post contributors presented different viewpoints on whether President Roosevelt aided a square deal in business operations.

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The Roosevelt Period

In 1919, former U.S. Senator Albert J. Beveridge reported on the economic evolution of the early 20th century.