1.The robber barons were Andrew Carnegie JP Morgan and John D. Rockefeller. These individuals were known as robber barons because they were eliminating competition by high pricing and overcharging while managing their monopoly. 2. Trunk lines were four major railroad networks that emerged after the civil war which connected eastern sea ports to western rivers as well as great lakes. The federal government loaned $65 million to western railroads and donated millions of acres. These grants helped to build over 18,000 acres of track. 3. Vertical integration is a type of organization in which a single company controls and owns the entire process from the raw materials to the manufacturing and sale of the product. Horizontal integration is a strategy where a company creates …show more content…
Trust is a way to manage a business which is designed to make the business more efficient. The advantages that trust are that they had little competition and their profits skyrocketed. 5. The nature of American labor during the 19th century was based on what an individual was capable of. Most wage earners worked at least six days a week, 10 hours a day. If individuals were skilled they earned about 20 cent an hour, if they were unskilled it would be half that amount. Work was extremely dangerous during this time period. Accidents were common because safety standards were low and thousands suffered from chronic illness. Workers would earn about $400 and $500 a year but for a family of four they needed to earn about $600 to live decently. 6. The conditions of child labor were horrible. Many of the children grew up in factories, working long hours for low wages in extremely dangerous conditions. 7. The Knights of Labor was the most significant and the largest American labor organizations the largest of the 1880s. The Knights promoted the social and cultural uplift of the middle class working man, demanded the eight-hour day rejected Socialism and radicalism, and promoted ethic of
After the Civil War, America gave rise to a new era of industrialism, the Gilded Age. An era dominated by powerful figureheads of industry, otherwise known as robber barons, America soon became an international economic power. Many believe that America’s international economic power is due to the doctrine of laissez-faire capitalism, where businesses operated without any interference from the government. However, there are multiple instances where the American government had directly supported the rise of industrialism. Thus, the Gilded Age’s success cannot only be attributed to laissez-faire because of the government intervention through the use of corruption practices, foreign policy, rail roads and the government’s response, government
Andrew Carnegie was born November 1835, in Dunfermline, Scotland. He grew up poor and lived in a small cottage attic with his family. In 1848 the carnegie family made the hard decision to immigrate to the United States. Carnegie was locally famous for decoding messages when he was a telegraph operator. He later worked himself up to being one of the most famous men in business during the late 1800’s.
1) Andrew Carnegie used vertical integration, controlling every step in the process of manufacturing a product, dominating the market. Vertical integration is when the company owns all means of distribution from beginning to end, this makes supplies more reliable and improved efficiency. It controlled the quality of the product at all stages of production. Horizontal integration was used by John D. Rockefeller and is an act of joining or consolidating with one’s competitors to create a monopoly. In Ohio in 1870 he organized the Standard Oil Company.
The National Labor Union (NLU), the Knights of Labor, and then the American Federation of Labor (AFL) all strived for a better workers’ condition. Specifically, Samuel Gompers, the founder of AFL, demanded “a reduction of the hours of labor,” “adequate wages,” etc. (Doc G) The labor unions took actions against the relentless business owners: the Railroad Strike, the Homestead Strike, and the Pullman Strike were examples that attempted to ameliorate working conditions by refusing to work. Similarly, the southern and western farmers formed organizations that asked for legislations that would benefit them.
When Cornelius Vanderbilt died he left his $100 million fortune to his son William Vanderbilt and they both had the same attitude. During the Gilded Age these big business and their owners were thought of as being Robber Barons or Captains of Industry. The poor working conditions that were provided, the corruption they led in government, and their use of child labor shows that they were Robber Barons. Children were used in labor to work a lot and most days of the week. Kids as young as 5 often worked as much as 12 to 14 hours a day for barely any pay.
J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie were great inventors of their time but they did things that made them Robber Barons. One large reason why they are a robber baron is that they wanted to get more money without caring for anybody working for him or working with their companies. J.P. Morgan was criticized for manipulating the financial system in order to make more money for himself. J.P. Morgan made a successful bank that is one of the leading banks today, CHASE. John D. Rockefeller made his money by creating an oil business.
In a time when economics and advancements were the most crucial parts of life, there were entrepreneurs who took advantage of their wealth and status to manipulate the economy and the less fortunate citizens. It is a powerful question throughout history whether these influential yet dictatorial men were captains of industry who allowed the economy to advance and flourish or robber barons who benefitted off the work of the lower classes and the betrayal of democracy. It is not arguable, however, that the only correct answer to this question would be that these men flourished and exceeded through the exploitation of the labor of the lower class which leads to the conclusion that they were robber barons. These men such as Cornelius Vanderbilt
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.
John D. Rockefeller was called a robber baron because many people believed he used unethical business practices to amass his extraordinary wealth. One of the most known was his practice of demanding rebates from railroads. Because Standard Oil shipped such large amounts of oil by rail, Rockefeller insisted that the railroads offer him rebates, or a discounted rate. This policy gave Standard
Erika Smith Webber per. 1 11/1/15 The Labor Movement Despite the fact that grueling conditions of labor has declined in comparison to the 1800’s the labor movement made a huge impact on the perilous amounts of labor because it contributed to the fixing of harsh work conditions, low pay, and the very long work shifts. From the 1700’s to the 1800’s workers had to endure unjust working conditions such as low pay, unsafe working environments and long hours this caused the labor movement.
Introduction: At this point in time in history, indentured servitude wasn’t an uncommon act. Many of those who migrated from Europe to the New World couldn’t pay for their passage and were sold to landowners to pay their dues for passage. They were fed, clothed and given shelter. Those who could afford passage to the New World had no money to survive once they arrived.
Was Cornelius Vanderbilt a Robber Baron or Captain of Industry? A cruel businessman or an industrious leader? Henry J. Raymond believed that Vanderbilt was “a monopolist that crushed other competitors”(T.J Stiles). While he is also deemed one of America’s leading businessmen, and is also credited for helping shape the United States. His fortunes were made unfairly in some cases but his million dollar contribution to the Navy was very generous.
Andrew Carnegie: The Ultimate Robber Baron Four hundred and seventy-five million dollars. This is the overwhelmingly large amount of money Andrew Carnegie acquired during his lifetime. Though not privileged as a boy, he worked his way up the ladder, achieving more than anyone could have ever imagined. Unfortunately, many people were exploited on his way to the top.
Robber Barons vs Captains of Industries The Industrial age was a period of economic and manufacturing growth full of mass production and expansion of large industries. During this time there were people who were called Captains of Industry who were leaders and innovators of business who employ thousands of workers and establish philanthropic foundations (charities). For example, John D. Rockefeller donated to many different charities to help other people. Also people called Robber Barons which were people who amassed great wealth through unfair and questionable business practices who used their money to gain power. For example, Cornelius Vanderbilt never spent his money on anything besides donating one million dollars to the construction
Even further, these robber barons would often ruthlessly eradicate competition by buying out other companies to establish monopolies through the horizontal and vertical integration of production and product.