North Shore barons hoarded land mainly to keep the public physically away
Evidence
There was a reason for the size of their fiefs, for their willingness to buy—and, year after year, to pay taxes on—hundreds of acres that they kept in woods and never used. There was a reason for the height and thickness of the walls around those fiefs. There was a reason for their private police forces and armed guards. They needed vast acreage in order that their castles could be set far enough back from public roads so that they would not have to see the public. They needed walls so that the public should understand that it was not wanted on their acres. They needed armed guards to protect their borders from those members of the public who might, on a Sunday excursion to the country, climb a wall to get at the empty green fields beyond. They were willing, they told each other, to spend anything necessary “to keep our privacy”—by which they meant to keep the public out of their demesne. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 659
Categorization
- XREF: Parallels the gated-community logic and spatial class segregation themes from World of Strangers and the suburb literature. — connects to: North Shore barons deliberately sabotaged roads and rail to keep the public out — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 661; Landowners’ resistance made large regional parks seem financially and legally impossible — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 691; Long Island’s parks were blocked by local barons who controlled the state legislature — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 688 (+1 more)
Broader Connections
- Long Island’s parks were blocked by local barons who controlled the state legislature
#corroborates(0.85) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 688 - North Shore barons privately owned virtually the entire Long Island shoreline by 1900
#corroborates(0.80) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 667 - Landowners’ resistance made large regional parks seem financially and legally impossible
#expands(0.72) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 691