Throughout the late 1800s, many people grew tremendously in wealth. Most people started businesses or expanded railroads which required a lot of money. This start the idea of robber barons or captains of industry; while there were some people who would collect the money for themselves there were many people who gave back and did some great things for America. Therefore, industrialists of the 1860s-1900s were more rightly called Captains of Industry than robber barons. John D. Rockefeller, James Fisk, and Henry Flanger are some great examples of Captains of Industry. They would donate high amounts of money to hospitals and schools to help improve society. Other examples are JP Morgan, Andrew Mellon, Andrew Carnegie, and Henry Clay Frisk. They
Robbers of Industry: Exploring Rockefeller's Case of This False Binary Looking at Google Search trend data shows that the person most associated with the term ‘robber baron’ is business tycoon John D. Rockefeller. Interestingly enough, however, is that the same is true for the term ‘captain of industry’ (Google Trends). To this day, the legacy of Gilded age business leaders like Rockefeller is conflicted, with people struggling to decide whether they were captains of industry, a robber barons, or both. Rockefeller's case, however, is most conflicting given the enormous impacts he had, both good and bad, by improving quality of life but decreasing competition in the industry.
Cornelius Vanderbilt: Captain of Industry When America began its journey into industry, the country immediately flourished. Inundated with immigrants, factories were easily staffed; jobs were given out to any individual who wanted one. However, some of these large industrial companies flourished more than others. Cornelius Vanderbilt, for example, became one of the richest men in the country. Many Americans believe that business owners like Vanderbilt should be given the name “Robber Barons” because of their great accomplishments; however, in contrast, others like to deem them as America’s “Captains of Industry”.
After the Civil War, Americans converged to build a nation with optimism. This saw a new wave of industrialism steered by a few entrepreneurs who set up firms to amass wealth and create employment to Americans. The success of these industrialists led historians and other scholars to refer to them as captains of industry or robber barons. By referring to them as captains of industry, historians implied that they applied their ingenuity and inventiveness to transform the economy, and impact the lives of the people through philanthropy. They were also castigated for exploiting the American workers through poor working conditions and low wages for their own selfish gain.
A robber baron was a person who became rich through ruthless practices, whereas a captain of industry is a person who led with respect throughout their career. JD Rockefeller was a captain of industry because his donations led to the fundings of vital research investigations. He was a businessman and philanthropist, most importantly, he was known for his invention of the United States Steel Oil Company. By introducing cheaper kerosine and gasoline, he attracted multitudes of people from the working class ready to obtain these more affordable prices. By doing so, Rockefeller’s profits soared, owning three quarters of the oil industry by the 1890’s.
When it comes to the phrase “sharing is caring”, not too many business leaders followed it. Ironically, there were a few stingy industrialists who happened to have a generous heart. John D. Rockefeller, J.P.Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie are a few examples of individuals known for “money-hogging” in the 19th century. Although a couple of these robber barons started off as people who did not give back to their community, they managed to become captains of industry in the end. What are robber barons and captains of industry?
In the late 19th century, the United States of America was growing rapidly, especially with the rise of industrial businesses and corporations. Some of the most popular figures that contributed to this growth were John D. RockRockefeller, Henry Ford, JP Morgan and Andrew Carnegie. These multi-millionaire tycoons gained wealth and fame during the “Gilded Age” by contributing to industrialization and the improvement of America as a whole. Although these individuals, and many more are typically known for their support and creation of the industrial revolution, were they “Robber Barons” or were they productive managers of the emerging growth of America?
This was because of what business they were involved in, how they competed against their rival businesses, and the treatment of their workers. Men such as J. P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller were considered “robber barons” in their time. These men were very wealthy and had companies that took over any company that was like it. They almost had complete control over any business that competed with theirs.
ANDREW CARNEGIE—THE ROBBER BARON Andrew Carnegie was one of the greatest of the tycoons of industry in the late nineteenth century, also being one of the greatest of the robber barons of the late nineteenth century. A Robber Baron is an owner of business who puts others down to gain fame and fortune. During a time of laissez faire, which is French for let alone, meaning government stays out of the business of others, any business owner could do whatever they wanted with their industry and workers—Carnegie took advantage of this by paying workers little salary and poor treatment. Some say that his past dictated what his future would be like—growing up poor meant others should grow up poor. With all of his money and power, he considered himself
There had to be a way to keep the industry growing, with the needs for education, as well as materials for farming and for the use of new inventions in technology. The captains of industry were very capable in providing for these needs. In Document C, Wealth, Andrew Carnegie describes what the man of wealth was responsible for: “To produce the most beneficial results for the community- Bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience, and ability to administer, doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves.” The conditions of the lower class at the time gave these men a leading role for priorities, which they were successful with.
Robber Barons and Captains of Industry Some might believe that the businessmen of the Gilded age are robber barons because of how some of them treated their workers and spent their money. The businessmen of the Gilded Age were captains of industry because of the impact that they made on the country. Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, and Vanderbilt all have done things that can identify them as captains of industry. These businessmen gave their time and effort to help the economy grow.
2. Growing businesses prospered in the 19th century due to improvements in technology and the surplus of work labor. The methods used to run these corporations were by the use of monopolies, which were divided into the robber barons and the captains of industry. The robber barons were negatively portrayed monopolists who were discerned to be hoarding their wealth. Some famous robber barons were
I believe he is a captain of Industry. What made you categorize your choice as a Robber Baron or Captain of Industry? I believe Henry Ford is a Captain of Industry whose contribution was vital to this country place as a great industrial power. He uses his skills and social position to revolutionize the automobile industry, provide cars in a more affordable price and give his employers better and steady wages.
After the Civil War, the Second Industrial Revolution was established due to America’s rapid growth for industry and economics. Capitalists during the industrial period of 1875-1900’s were either accused of being a robber baron or a captain of industry. Some capitalists leaders who were accused of being a robber baron or captain of industry included J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Andrew W. Mellon, and John D. Rockefeller. A robber baron is a business leader who gets rich through cruel and scandalous business practices. The captains of industry is a business leader who wants to better the companies in a way that it would be positively contributing to the country.
The Captains of Industry were certainly one of the most important factors in the development of United States in the period directly after the Civil War. While there is some merit to the argument that the industrial leaders were Robber Barons that did more harm than good, their contributions to American society clearly outweigh those negatives. The Captains of Industry quite literally revolutionized the American way of life that gave the U.S. the highest standard of living in the world prior to the outbreak of World War I. This was made possible due to the emergence of corporations in areas such as finance, steel, oil, and railroads. When these men combined with other factors, such as the mechanization of agriculture, immigration, migration,
Robber barons, specifically Andrew Carnegie, an industrialist and John D. Rockefeller, a philanthropist, were the chosen, elite members of society according to the doctrine of Social Darwinism. Darwinism is when evolution occurs and the strongest organisms of an ecosystem survive and reproduce to outnumber the weaker, less fit organisms of an ecosystem. Similarly Social Darwinism follows the same concept, but in a capitalist sense of thought. Those who were able to exploit the Gilded Age’s laissez faire economy to their own benefit, like the robber barons Andrew Carnegie of Carnegie Steel and J. D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil, were the fittest members of society because they were able to survive in the grueling and ruthless free economy. By usurping all of the fresh yet unfit immigrants that were flowing into the States due to the rise of urbanization, these two men integrated these easily-manipulated people into their factories to augment their profits.