The men who built America are viewed today as either “Robber Barons” or “Captains of Industry”. According to dictionary.com a Robber Baron is “a person who has become rich through ruthless and unscrupulous business practices. A Captain of Industry is “a business leader whose means of accumulating a personal fortune contributed positively to the country in some way.” These men are Robber Barons rather than Captains of Industry because of the unfair ways they got to the top, the cruel ways they treated their workers, and the rivalries they created with each other.
The men who built America had a lot of money. It's said that they had enough money to reinvest in themselves and still have money to spare. They were relentless, and would do whatever
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They also signed deals with others in secret, or by going behind someone’s back. In other words, the business leaders couldn’t be trusted. For example, Cornelius Vanderbilt went behind John D. Rockefeller’s back when he joined forces with Thomas Scott, another leading railroad industrialist. Rockefeller had previously made deals with them both to sell his kerosene, however they teamed up making him pay higher prices. He went on to stop selling them kerosene altogether, and ran pipes through the ground to transport his kerosene throughout the country. These successful businessmen also stole each other's businesses. Rockefeller purchased a steel mine out from under Andrew Carnegie, the leader in steel. John P. Morgan purchased Carnegie's business completely for four hundred eighty million dollars in 1901, changing the name to U.S. Steel. The men who built America used their mass amounts of money to get what they wanted done, done. For …show more content…
The rivalries they created with one another not only made their working environments even more hostile, it made them willing to do whatever necessary to get to the top of their industries. Each man, Morgan, Carnegie, and Rockefeller, wanted to outdo the others. They all wanted to have the most money. When Vanderbilt was still in the picture, he held the title of the richest man alive. Rockefeller did everything he could to try and change this. He made deals with people that he probably would’ve never made if he hadn’t been trying to outdo Vanderbilt.. The men wanted more than anything to outsmart one another. Every one of the moves they made was to try and throw a curveball at the competition. For example, Carnegie never saw Morgan’s offer coming when he proposed to buy Carnegie Steel, but Carnegie accepted the offer and became the richest man alive. The feuding between the men didn't only affect them, but it made their working environments more hazardous. When Andrew Carnegie wanted to start pocketing more money, he allowed Frick to let the working conditions of Carnegie Steel deteriorate, and men died because of it.
The men who built america used unfair and barbaric tactics to get to the top of their industries. The ways they treated their workers and each other were cruel and unacceptable. Some might argue that these men are
American businessmen, of the 1800’s, built America to be one of the greatest superpowers in the world. To start, businessmen of the 1800s consisted of men like John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Andrew Carnegie. Some of these men were split by how they got their money; Captains of Industry and Robber Barons. Captains of Industry were business leaders that helped the nation in a positive way. On the other hand, Robber Barons were men that shrewd capitalists, swindled the poor and benefitted for themselves.
It started in the late 19th century and ended in the early 20th century. During this period, the entrepreneurs Jay Gould, Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan and Anrew Carnegie founded large operations are known as trusts. These trusts helped them build their wealth and business empires and laid the foundation for modern America. To achieve this, the businessmen turned to methods that are seen as unscrupulous. Their methods and behavior led to a debate on wheter they are Captains of Industry, who contribute positively to the country, or Robber Barons, who utilized questionable tactics to reach their success.
As industry began to grow in America, a select group of pioneers such as Andrew Carnegie became controversial. The controversy was that they were simply rich and took from the poor. People who participated in such acts were referred to as “Robber Barons”. It is often said that Andrew Carnegie was a “Robber Baron” but he was not because in his case, he was one of the first people to bring industry to such a large scale. Without people before him, he had no guidance and therefore it was much harder to conduct business because he was essentially creating his own path.
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.
Was John D. Rockefeller a robber baron? I’d say so. Through ruthless business tactics and exploitation of workers, he made a fortune in his lifetime. In this paper, I’m going to be talking about said business tactics and exploitation. If you believe Rockefeller was just a good business man who donated to the poor, I hope your view will be changed by the end.
John D. Rockefeller owned a bunch of oil refineries and instead of drilling for his oil, he focused on refining it. Rockefeller later became the richest man in America of his time. He didn't treat his workers very well. He made them work long shifts and offered very low wages. Vanderbilt linked a railroad connecting the
Barons such as Andrew Carnegie, J.P Morgan, and John Rockefeller dominated the country through the enormous wealth that they amassed. The power that these individuals wielded was unfathomable. They even bought the presidency. It was through their combined might that William McKinley was elected. This pushed their power and wealth to even greater heights.
In the late 1800’s, J.P Morgan, John Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie had a negative impact on society because they were Robber Barons. They treated their workers very poorly in a way that should not have happened. J.P Morgan forced his workers to labor under harsh conditions for long hours and low pay. This is coming from a guy who has made millions of dollars and who has started a 60 million dollar business. Knowing how much money he has and how very little he pays his workers shows how ruthless he is as a business owner.
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.
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.
J.D. Rockefeller was another very wealthy Gilded Age businessman. He
Most of these people were Robber Barons who had a monopoly. Vanderbilt started off in the steamboat industry as a young man, and was known as being fierce and ruthless. When Vanderbilt grew up, he created his monopoly in the railroad company. He closed off New York to any railroad company until they would give up and sell him the tracks around New York.
During the late 19th century, there was a growth in industrialization. This brought new opportunities for the poor and the rich. For example, Carnegie helped build the steel industry in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, which made him one of the richest man in the world. As Carnegie gained more wealth, he questioned who money should be given to. Carnegie was both a Robber Baron and a Captain of Industry.
John D. Rockefeller gave away $540 million dollars before his death at the age of 97. With this money he created two, of the world's greatest research companies and helped pull the American South out of poverty. Without Rockefeller’s gracious donations to our country through education, medical, and donations to help our country, he most definitely was a Captain of Industry which helped our country get to where we are today. Captain of Industry is a fancy term of saying that this person has helped our country thrive and get to where we are today. John D. Rockefeller is a prime example of a great leader and a captain of industry, without him we would not have the successful oil business we have today.
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.