“The money powers prey upon the nation in times of peace and conspire against it in times of adversity.
It is more despotic than a monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy.
It denounces, as public enemies, all who question its methods or throw Light upon its crimes.
I have two great enemies, the Southern Army in front of me and the bankers in the rear.
Of the two, the one at my rear is my greatest foe... corporations have been enthroned,
and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country
will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth
is aggregated in the hands of a few, and the Republic is destroyed.” —Abraham Lincoln