Gustavus Myers (March 20, 1872–1942) was an American journalist and historian who published a series of highly critical and influential studies on the social costs of wealth accumulation.
The Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award was named after him, which honoured books which were judged to be "outstanding in helping shed light on bigotry in America".
Gustavus Myers was born March 20, 1872, in Trenton, New Jersey, the son of Julia Hillman and Abram Myers. He attended school for a time while the impoverished family lived in Philadelphia. His father was largely absent. At the age of 14 Myers began working in a factory. He continued his own education by reading avidly and attending public lectures. His older brother Jerome Myers became a painter associated with the Ashcan School. Gustavus married Genevieve Whitne, Massachusetts, on September 23, 1904, and they had two children together.[1][2]
Between 1909 and 1914 Myers published three volumes on the history of family wealth in the United States, one volume on the same topic for Canada, and a history of the Supreme Court of the United States. These publications were frequently cited and used in an academic setting for several decades, with Myers' History of the Great American Fortunes revived in a single volume format in 1936.[3]
History of the Great American Fortunes was Myers' most important and influential work, documenting at great length the corruption and criminality underlying the formation and accumulation of the great American fortunes of the 19th century. From Astor and Vanderbilt, Jay Gould and Marshall Field, Stanford and Harriman, to Elkins, Morgan and Hill, Whitney, Rockefeller, Dodge, Havemeyer and numerous others, Myers detailed the permanently devastating effects of wealth accumulation on the structure of the American economy, society, and the quality of life of the vast majority of Americans.
Myers' approach was by no means Marxist and he split with the Socialist Party of America (SPA) in 1917 over the SPA's position against US involvement in World War I.[3] His perspective was to expose the legal and administrative enablement of financial crimes by legislation and the corruption of government bodies nominally delegated to enforce it. His work and approach could be compared to the modern political writings of Noam Chomsky, such as Manufacturing Consent, which patiently explain the functionality of modern propaganda models through scholarly documentation.
In 1918 Myers contributed to the US war effort by publishing a book attacking what he called "Germany's Sinister Propaganda," The German Myth: The Falsity of Germany's "Social Progress" Claims. Myers received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1941, which he used to write a book entitled History of Bigotry in the United States.[3]
Myers has been associated with the muckraking era of US literature, somewhat erroneously, since his work was not journalistic, did not aim at popular magazine publication, and took a scholarly, investigative and documentary approach to its subjects.[citation needed]
His papers are housed at the American Heritage Center of the University of WyomingatLaramie. Included in the 2.5 cubic feet (71 L) of archival material are photographs of Myers and the manuscripts of two unpublished non-fiction books.[4] A finding aid is available on site.
