How Did Robber Barons Help The Economy In The Late 1800's

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, a late 19th century steel magnate, was immensely successful during the Gilded Age. He kept wages low while eliminating competition, so that workers had no choice but to stay in Carnegie’s company. The Gilded Age is so called because the top appeared to be gold (i.e. the richest people were doing extremely well) but on the inside there were insurmountable wealth inequalities (I.e the rich succeeded at the expense of the rest of the nation). Andrew Carnegie was a large causer of wealth inequality . In his “Gospel of Wealth” he justifies the trend by stating that in an ideal world the rich would give to the poor, but unfortunately our world is impossible.

Beginning as a poor immigrant, Carnegie wanted to support the lower and uneducated class: he knew how it felt to have an ambiguous and undetermined future. In "The Gospel of Wealth" Carnegie said,

united states the world power in oil, finance and communication. Robber Barons know what they are doing is wrong but they do not care for the society, they care only for money. These people had made a huge decision and changed America forever. When many workers suffered a poor standard of living and in terrible housing, Robber Barons were living a luxurious life and enjoyed their life. They made their workers work Christmas and holidays.

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.

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.

Becoming wealthy comes with a lot of responsibilities, Carnegie said that he lived frugally, so his money started racking up, and then he sold his business which concluded to an extreme amount of money. But many workers of his said that his conditions and wages were not fair for how much he was making. “Carnegie, more than any other businessman of the era, championed the idea that America’s leading tycoons owed a debt to society. He believed that, given the circumstances of their successes, they should serve as benefactors to the less fortunate public” (textbook). Carnegies’ Gospel of Wealth states that he put copious amounts of dedication into his work.

As Carnegie was growing both richer each day from his prosperous Steel company, he had eventually become one of the captains of industry and also in some cases a robber baron. Other owners like Rockefeller were also a part of this group. going back to the Gospel of Wealth, after Carnegie had accumulated an excessive amount of money he had pulled up from his successful industry, he felt the need to use it correctly to benefit everyone or people who didn't have as much money as

Jessica HillisMr. GillardAP US History5 January 2007Essay 16: Gilded AgeThroughout history, certain periods of time have been given certain names based on thehappenings that occurred. Many have called the period of 1865 to 1901 the “Gilded Age”, be-cause it was “shiny and pretty” on the outside but it was “rough and ugly” underneath. The term“Gilded Age” was actually coined by Mark Twain who satired the Gilded Age with a GoldenAge.

The laborer, toiling in factories and industry, did not fare much better than the small farmer. Immigration increased dramatically, providing the necessary workforce for industries. Socialist ideas, however, along with low pay, and the ability of some workers to enter the middle class (in part through the creation of a managerial class), kept labor unions from effectively protecting workers from exploitation. Low wages, long hours, job insecurity, hazardous working conditions, and gender, age and racial discrimination characterized the working life of many(?)/most(?)

The captains of industry believed that the poor people were inferior to the rich people. The rich were superior because they had “wisdom, experience, and the ability to administer”. The duty of a rich person was to help out a poor person which was what was said in the Gospel of Wealth. The Gospel of Wealth is about how the rich person's responsibility is philanthropy. Carnegie believes in charity work so he would donate to libraries, and universities and schools and etc.

Likewise, many wealthy people, including big business leaders, came to realize that it was their role in society was to give back. Due to all the negative responses, people such as Andrew Carnegie were huge philanthropists . They stated that because they were wealthy and were better inclined than most, they should be willing to help those at the bottom. Andrew Carnegie’s, Gospel of Wealth, explicitly stated how the wealthy have a moral obligation to give back (Outside Evidence). Other major responses to changes and the impact of big business were responses from the government.

There is a broad line between a captain of industry and a robber baron. A captain of industry brought an advanced, modern economy. They might have done a few shady acts, but people can look past it. A robber baron can be considered as thieves because of the way they gained money by destroying other companies. Many could say these millionaires are both.

Andrew Carnegie wanted to create a capitalist system, which involved the lower class working underneath of the wealthy, who would then give their surplus of wealth to society The duty of the wealthy is to set an example of modesty among the wealthy, to provide for the needs of those that depend on him and to lend money to his fellow man to give back to the community. The man of wealths duties as carnegie explained in paragraph nine is to “provide the poor a trustee and a sole agent that provides them with wisdom experience and doing for them better than they would do or could do for themselves.” ( Carnegie, paragraph nine). THis system would give the wealthy many responsibilities, but Carnegie believed it was their duty to help others when they were unable to help