Andrew Carnegie's Laissez-Faire: Robber Barons

A “robber baron” is defined as one who uses immoral methods to get rich. John D. Rockefeller, king of oil and the owner of the Standard Oil Company, was known for these unscrupulous tactics. Rockefeller’s peculiar ideas of the “law of nature” in accordance with his “primitive savagery” allowed this stealthy businessman to manipulate his way to the top. Although Rockefeller’s oil monopoly attributed to the wealth of the American economy, he destroyed the morality of modest men to accomplish ultimate power and prestige making him one of the wealthiest industrialists during his time.

Over a century after his death, Stanford’s name lives vividly in international consciousness as one of the most prestigious universities in the United States. However, before he and his wife, Jane, created Leland Stanford Jr. University, his origins begin quite differently: as an adventurous capitalist and politician who made California his stomping grounds over the course of several decades. Stanford experimented with various industries and enjoyed great wealth as one of the major robber barons of the late 19th century. Although Leland Stanford may have achieved his wealth through morally questionable ways, his legacy lives on through what is now called Stanford University, erected in memory of his deceased son.

Legal Brief for Andrew Carnegie As the prosecutor of Andrew Carnegie, I would like to state the reasons of why Carnegie should be found guilty of being a robber baron. Carnegie’s refusal to raise worker’s pay by 30% after the company’s profited have increased nearly sixty percent lead to one of the most serious strike in the United States history, the Homestead Strike. Carnegie was also a member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, which was blamed for the Johnstown flood that killed over two thousand people. Lastly, Carnegie was one of the many companies that utilized the vertical integration strategy which drove many smaller companies out of business with marketing tactics that were considered unlawful.

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.

Greed – the extreme, selfish desire to acquire what is beyond average necessities. Whether greed applies to wealth or power, mankind is prone to exemplify the cupidity. Humans may never become truly content with what they are given, allowing them to desire superfluous objects. The development of greed, as shown in repeated history, eventually leads to the ruination of characters, one particular character being Andrew Carnegie. Andrew Carnegie, the leader of the steel industry in the 19th century, epitomized the concept of greed by yearning for supplementary profits within his company; this greed greatly affected the lives of many, including Carnegie himself.

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.

The United States began to enter a prosperous and increasing period after the civil war known as industrialization. Despite the fact that industrialization led the United States to wealth, it also led it to many social and economic problems during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this time, Upton Sinclair and Andrew Carnegie were the people who responded to the economic and social problems generated by industrialization. Andrew Carnegie was one of the wealthy men in America and was very charitable, he impacted the United States with his steel to transform cities. During these economic and social problems generated by industrialization, he responded by providing money to fund charities.

The late nineteenth century was a pivotal moment in American history. During this time, the Industrial Revolution transformed the nation, railroads had dissipated all throughout the country, and economic classes began to form, separating the wealthy from the poor. One of the wealthiest men of this generation was Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant who fled to America to make millions off the railroad, oil and even steel businesses. Carnegie is considered one of the richest men in history, and even with all that wealth he decided to give back to the community. As a matter of fact, Carnegie donated most of his funds to charities, universities and libraries in his last few years.

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.

Andrew Carnegie was a “robber baron” as shown in the way he acted towards the people who helped him reach the top and the terrible working environment that he subjected his workers to. He did various things in an attempt at overshadowing the awful things he did and positively alter his public image. His mentor, Thomas Scott, taught him the skills he would use to become the undisputed king of steel. Costs were the most important aspect of any business and reducing those required cutting wages, demanding 13 hour days and utilizing spies as a way to thwart possible strikes. Many years after Carnegie had gone out on his own, Scott met with him thinking that the years they spent together and all he had taught him would unquestionably result in help in his time of trouble.

Carnegie was considered a Robber Baron for many reasons. For example, he gained huge profits because of his workers low wages. In the excerpt, “Who was Andrew Carnegie,” the author said, “his steel workers were often pushed to long hours and low wages.” Workers worked in harsh conditions and received no benefits causing them to live in poverty with scarce food, clothing, and shelter. Workers were tired of the low wages and decided to go on strike.

The actions of these four businessmen in the late 1800s had overall a negative effect on society. These men were known as Robber Barons. A Robber Baron is someone who acquired a fortune in the 19th century by ruthless means. Examples of Robber Barons include JP Morgan, John Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie. These men gave horrible working conditions to their employees.

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.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the captains of industry, more popularly known as robber barons, controlled big businesses, but through unethical, cut-throat ways. Robber barons were the wealthy citizens who owned successful businesses which used tactics that kept them on top, and there competitors below them. These tactics included, trusts, pools, and holding companies, which were all forms of monopolies. There were many individuals who qualified as a robber baron, but three of the most well known are Andrew Carnegie, John Davidson Rockefeller, and John Pierpont Morgan.

Underpinnings and Effectiveness of Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth” In Andrew Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth”, Carnegie proposed a system of which he thought was best to dispose of “surplus wealth” through progress of the nation. Carnegie wanted to create opportunities for people “lift themselves up” rather than directly give money to these people. This was because he considered that giving money to these people would be “improper spending”.