Robber Barons Research Paper

Throughout the late 1800s, many people grew tremendously in wealth. Most people started businesses or expanded railroads which required a lot of money. This start the idea of robber barons or captains of industry; while there were some people who would collect the money for themselves there were many people who gave back and did some great things for America. Therefore, industrialists of the 1860s-1900s were more rightly called Captains of Industry than robber barons. John D. Rockefeller, James Fisk, and Henry Flanger are some great examples of Captains of Industry.

Morgan had somehow successfully sold all 250,000 shares of New York Central railroad without driving down the share cost by a penny. This earned him a seat on New York Central Board of Directors. Additionally to his career in railroads he helped in the feud between to the two vast over expanded New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad, without the end to this feud thousands of Americans would have lost their jobs - as their company would eventually go bankrupt. The end to this freud also saved American business and kept european investment in America thus helping the government, but this would not be the biggest feat Morgan fought for the United

In “Robber Baron vs Industrial Statesman” John D. Rockefeller is portrayed as a Robber Baron due to his manipulative business techniques. Rockefeller started his involvement in the oil industry in 1863 by building his first refinery in Cleveland. Soon it became the largest in the area and due to it’s success Rockefeller turned his full attention to the project. With success came acquisitions, as Standard began buying out its competitors. One business he effected was the one of George Rice.

Excellent post Joao. J.P Morgan was certainly one of the greatest bankers and finaciers to ever live. He helped reorganize financially troubled railroads, formed a syndicate to save the gold standard for the U.S government, and he used his influence to help save several trust companies, rescue the stock exchange, and bail out the City of New York during the 1907 financial panic. He did all of this while setting up the ground work for one of the greatest banking firms to ever exist.

From my understanding, his contribution to forming the American economy was his leadership in creating and expanding the American steel industry. When he was eighteen years old, he took a job at the Pennsylvania Railroad working as the assistant and telegrapher to Thomas Scott, one of the railroads top officials. Through his experience here, he learned about the railroad industry and business overall; three years later, he was promoted to superintendent. While working here, he made many investments and soon realized that investments towards oil brought in a lot of money. After years of doing that, he left the railroad to focus on his own business interests.

While some industrialists were referred to as "captains of industry" due to their significant contributions to the growth and development of the American economy, ultimately, their actions and methods of acquiring wealth and power, such as their monopolistic practices and corruption/bribery, classify them as "robber barons" who prioritized their self-interests over the well-being of society and the economy. The manipulation of markets ultimately ruins the natural flow of the market and results in many advantages for very few already wealthy individuals. John Pierpont Morgan, better known as J.P. Morgan., was an extremely successful industrialist who eventually merged his business with his father's company to form J.P. Morgan and Company. Through

The decisions that he made were usually impose reactions. He thought about them but not quite hard enough. Although with his decision making he was able to control most of the oil refineries in Cleveland. His business grew to influence other businesses. This led to monopoly.

Robber Baron or Captain of Industry? This is the ultimate question. There are several major business leaders that were very successful is the late 19th Century. One of the successful leaders is J. Pierpont Morgan. Many people around the United States view J. Pierpont Morgan differently and think about him in different ways.

John D. Rockefeller in my opinion is a robber baron; The term robber baron was used in the 19th century to describe a group of industrialist who were creating enormous personal fortunes. Many people believed he used unethical business practices to amass his extraordinary wealth. John had a drive to become one one of the richest people in America. During Rockefeller's time the average person was making around 8 to 10 dollars per week, but Rockefeller was worth millions. Rockefeller did use some tactics that were questionable.

During the best years of U.S. Steel, it produced slightly over 50% of all the United States’ finished steel goods (“United States Steel”). The formation of another big business, the U.S. railroad, was helped by J.P. Morgan. His method of creating a massive railroad corporation was to stunt the competition (John Pierpont Morgan). By the beginning of the twentieth century, Morgan had made U.S. railways into an empire (John Pierpont

Carnegie donated money to establish ($350 million worth) libraries, schools, universities, and pension funds for his employees. James J. Hill provided seed, grain, and cattle to farmers during the Great Depression. (Hook Exercise). These entrepreneurs promoted inventions that enhanced the way we live in the developing technological era. When people were in need, these captains of industry were there to save the day, sharing their money like it was no big deal; only it really was to the ones who needed

Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were hardworking and used their money to help others instead of keeping it for themselves. They both started and donated to charities. Carnegie gave away most of his money before he died and established thousands of libraries.

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.

Towards the end of his life, unlike Carnegie & Rockefeller, he did not live in glamorous mansions. Even though he did was not exactly known for his philanthropic contributions, he did give one million dollars to build and endow the Vanderbilt University in Nashville,

One man used his power and influence to save the United states in several times of economic crisis. James Pierpont Morgan, also known as J.P.Morgan, helped prevent many economic crises because of the void of a U.S central bank and was one of the leading figures during the Gilded Age. James Pierpont Morgan would go on to reach substantial goals. He rebuilt failing companies to be successful investments, he was a god to the financial industry, and he also had a big nose. His legacy can be easily spotted today, like his nose in drawings.