Robber Barons Dbq

The business world wasn’t the only thing corrupt but the railroads were too. With the railroad industry growing the companies knew they could charge huge rate and gain a large profit. Congressmen were paid off to be quite about the scandal and kept it to themselves. The railroads raised the stocks and were given to well-liked companies.

During the late 1800s many well-known business leaders widely arose across the America, such as Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, J.P. Morgan. Some of these tycoons contributed to America, while others were considered robber barons. People who were controlling economy, monopolizing different industries and using of illegal means to gain wealth called robber barons. Despite this, their names can be compared with innovation, big business and the American Dream. They discovered fabulous advances in technology while fighting to unite their industries and rise to the top of the business world.

By referring to industrialists like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller as robber barons, Zinn means they acquired their wealth through dishonest means. For example, Rockefeller removed a rival refinery with “a small explosion arranged by Standard Oil officials with the refinery’s chief mechanic”. In addition, Carnegie became a millionaire by selling bonds for people and charging them enormous commissions (Zinn 257). In contrast, Schweikart and Allen refer to Carnegie

Instead of the rags to riches story, Morgan, born into a wealthy family, was given the financial world to conquer. “He financed railroads and helped organize U.S. Steel, General Electric and other major corporations while using his influence to help stabilize American financial markets during several economic crises.” Like most wealthy business men at the time, Morgan “had too much power and was accused of manipulating the nation’s financial system for his own gain.” Overall, Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Morgan all built businesses for struggling industries in order to save the nation and help themselves succeed. Capitalism, America 's new economic system, depended on competition and played a huge role in the overall process.

Robber Barons ' Mock Trial The term robber baron was first created by Matthew Josephson to describe the corrupt, cruel businessmen who made their fortunes off the backs of innocent working-class Americans in the late nineteenth century. While most people can only name a few of the infamous robber barons- like Carnegie, Vanderbilt, and Rockefeller- another, lesser known, thief also falls under that category, more deserving of the name robber baron than even some of the well-known crooks. Leland Stanford was truer to the name robber baron than many others.

The period from 1870 to 1900, big businesses governed by Robber Barons sprung up and took control of the economy and the political system that governed the American People. The American people responded by forming labor unions and tried to improve the plight of the poor. Laissez-faire

I categorized Andrew Carnegie a Captain of Industry after learning of his philanthropic views and actions. Carnegie not only obtained a wealth from working hard and wisely investing but used most of his fortune to make a difference on the world. Carnegie own words categorize the essence of generosity and kind hearth. I cannot disagree with him when he stated that “The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced”

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,

The last reason that the wealthy industrialists are Captains of Industry is because of the new technologies that were invented during this time period. These new technologies helped not only the economic growth but also sparked ideas on how to organize businesses. For example this is shown in the article “The Gilded Age” when the author says “new technologies and new ways of organizing business led a few individuals to the top.” Another example of this is shown in the article “The Development of Industrial State” the author states “An outburst of new technological innovation in the late 19th century fueled this headlong economic growth.” This evidence really shows that when most people hear new technologies they think of just the new inventions.

The 1920s was the most influential decade in U.S. history because of corruption in the government. Corruption occurs in a government when politicians are bought out by private companies. These companies would pay the politicians large sums of money and in return, the politicians would do political favors for the companies. According to United States History and New York History: Post-Civil War to the Present, Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall, "… accepted large sums of money and valuable gifts from private oil companies... Fall allowed the companies to control government oil reserves.

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.

Robber Barons were like robin hoods, but reversed. Instead of stealing from the rich to give to the poor, they would steal from the poor by giving the rich a discount on a product, then making that same product up for a poorer person (Whitehead, 2016). The Civil War has just ended. America is thrown into a time of industrialism that it wasn’t properly prepared for. Before all of the industrialism was put into the equation, we were a mess and with the industrialism, we were a disaster, just waiting to explode.

Robber Baron became a term to describe Businessmen who did similar things like Baron. In the Gilded Age some businessmen had a vision and invested time and money to let grow with the economy such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, many businessmen donated to gifts to organizations such as schools, churches, and hospitals, businessmen such as Vanderbilt and people who practiced similar ways of entrepreneurship and donated

“When the Civil War came, the demands for his goods increased dramatically, and Rockefeller found himself amassing a small fortune.” (Source 1 “The New Tycoons- John D. Rockefeller”) Generally, when there are many consumers buying from one company, then that establishment has had people within it using wise business tactics. For the Standard Oil Company, that person was John D. Rockefeller. “He shipped so many goods that railroad companies drooled over the prospect of getting his business.”

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.