...Josh Jensen Mr Myer US History – 3rd Per. November 5th, 2015 Captains of Industry When you think of our history’s men of success, you think of people like John D. Rockefeller and Cornelius Vanderbilt. These men were widely successful in their businesses, and as a result accumulated huge amounts of profits for themselves. But it has been debated throughout history whether or not they are considered “Robber Barons” or “Captains of Industry”. What this is essentially asking is whether or not they stole gave back or stole more from society in the 1850’s. I believe that the leading industrialists of the 19th and early 20th centuries were “Captains of Industry” because they gave back to the community, and provided jobs. First, let’s talk about...
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...K-Sean Burrell April 24, 2013 HIS 152 Were the nineteenth century entrepreneurs Robber barons or captains of industry? Captains of Industries played a major role in the economic development of the United States during the late nineteenth century. Persevering from poverty, powerful industrialists such as John Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Cornelius Vanderbilt became the utmost wealthiest businessmen in America. Driven by one motive, wealth, these men were able to control entire sectors of the economy. Interestingly, this process created new jobs, increased the availability of goods, and monetary donations towards the welfare of the people helped establish libraries, museums and colleges. Each individual is a “captain of industry” because they positively advanced establishments leading to great success for American society. Revolutionizing the petroleum industry, John D. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870 which helped businesses such as the railroad with their tariff flow. John D. Rockefeller was a genius businessman with an ambition for success. Rockefeller was able to reduce his competition by inventing new ideas such as “quantity discount”, which would charge less if the customer bought more. Rockefeller could persuade individuals to purchase his oil instead of competitors because it appeared cheaper. Quoted by John D. Rockefeller in an interview with William Hoster “I believe the power to make money is a gift of God ... to be...
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...The American industrialists changed the faces of American corporations. They aided the United States in becoming economically successful, motivated other businesses to strive more, and provided jobs to lower classes. American industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan were more captains of industry rather than robber barons. American industrialists were captains of industry, or industrialists who benefitted society, because they have made the United States more economically successful. For example, during a decline in silver prices, investors were encouraged to trade their silver dollars for gold dollars. The bars of gold stored by the United States Treasury fell to a dangerously low level, and President Grover...
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...Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller where captains of their industry because they were innovators and philanthropists. Carnegie created a new way of creating steel. Carnegie melted down steel a poured it into a shape. This new steel was stronger, lighter and cheaper. This stronger cheaper steel helped in the creation of railroads, elevators and skyscrapers. Now instead of relying on building the next floor of a building on the roof of the last, you could now build on a steel shell allowing more stories than before. Carnegie also donated money to charities and education. He donated $350 million dollars into public education. Also he built over 2500 libraries. Carnegie donated money instead of using it for personal use. He could...
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...Billy Rudnik Silverman U.S. History 1 5/14/16 Late 19th Century Tycoons Assignment Several nineteenth-century industrialists are debated as both "captains of industry" and "robber barons". These include people such as J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Andrew W. Mellon, and John D. Rockefeller. The term “Robber Baron”combines the concept of a criminal robber with an illegitimate aristocrat baron and means becoming wealthy by unethical means. For example. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company of Ohio controlled 90 percent of the refining business. Rockefeller reaped huge profits by paying his employees extremely low wages and driving his competitors out of business by selling his oil at a lower price than it cost to produce it. Then, when...
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...“Robber Barons?” How did they work to concentrate wealth and reform capitalism? How could they be called “Robber Barons” by many, and “Captains of Industry,” by a few? In what ways were they both? Throughout history there have been very important men who have had a big impact on our industries. Without these men we would not have some of the greatest industries we have today. Men like Cornelius Vanderbilt, John Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie. These men were some of the richest men in their times, they each were very successful business men. Cornelius Vanderbilt made his fortune off of steam ships and railroads. John Rockefeller controlled the oil companies. J.P. Morgan was a successful banker and investor whose company J.P. Morgan & co is still around today. Andrew Carnegie took over the steel industry making him one of the richest men in the world when he died. (Zinn Ch 10 & 11) All these men were successful and could be called Captains of Industry but at the same time were also known as Robber Barons. In this essay I will be giving a brief history of each of those men and in what industry he made his fortune. I will also explain how each one had different aspects of their life that made people think of them as Robber Barons. Finally I will talk about how they can be considered to be both Robber Barons and Captains of Industry. The dictionary has two definitions for a Robber Baron. The first is “an American capitalist of the latter part of the 19th century...
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...John D. Rockefeller was the leading controller of the oil industry in the “Turn of the Century”, who started and ran a company, called the Standard Oil Company. He was known as a generous, and philanthropic business person, but it was because of his perseverance and ability to work hard that oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller was a successful businessman. Rockefeller himself said, “I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.” Even as a teenager, Rockefeller was interested and involved in the world of business. At age 16, he was employed at Hewitt & Tuttle, and though he began his work with a salary of only $3.57 every week, his...
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...Captains of Industry? Or Robber Barons? [pic] Overview: The thirty years plus, following the end of the Civil War, is often referred to as the “Gilded Age”. This was a term coined by Mark Twain, the most renowned American writer of the period. It refers to a superficial period of intense economic growth. During this time, businessmen created large business organizations known as trusts. The ingenuity of these entrepreneurs earned the titles of “Captains of Industry”. Yet, their ruthlessness in building wealth at the expense of their competitors, workers and consumers often earned them the title “Robber Baron”. This DBQ (Document Based Questions) asks you to decide whether these businessmen were “Captains of Industry” or “Robber Barons”. Background Essay During the post-Civil War period, an era commonly referred to as the Gilded Age, the economy of the United States grew at a fantastic rate. With the exception of a recession during the mid-1870s, and another during the mid-1890s, the economic growth was in unprecedented in United States history. Manufacturing output increased by 180 percent. Railroads, an important catalyst of growth, increased in miles by 113 percent. Steel production grew to over 10,000,000 tons per year by 1900. Every aspect of the American economy expanded from traditional activities to new enterprises brought about by the huge influx of cutting-edge technological inventions. The gross national product almost doubled during the period and the per...
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...A captain of industry or a robber baron? Many big business owners were considered to be one or the other. I believe that big business owners were different in their ways and there is not one definition that defines them all. Many big business owners were captains of industry but there were many that were robber barons. Andrew Carnegie, for example, was a captain of industry. Carnegie was an immigrant from England that lived his life off the “pennies in his pocket.” Carnegie decided to invest heavily in steel after seeing a new method of making steel called the Bessemer process which he picked up in England and brought with him to America. Carnegie began to form the Carnegie Steel Company. Carnegie was defined as a captain of industry because...
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...During the late 1800’s, a group of innovative businessmen would change America’s standing in the world forever. Some of these men were Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan and many more who contributed to industrial and economic change in the United States. They were not remembered as heroes by everyone. Some believe that their monopolizing ideas and ways of crushing their competition made them out to be “Robber Barons” rather than ¨Captains of Industry¨. They received a bad name because their success and the money they made, was at the expense of the working class. They revolutionized the American industrial system and boosted America’s place as a national manufacturing power, while also monopolizing businesses and hurting the working class. Where you find wealth, you'll find that the land contains monopolies. The Captains of Industry made money and revolutionized the American industrial system, boosted America’s place as a national manufacturing power, increased the standard of living in America by creating many jobs, and generously gave away their own money to various charities and organizations. There are multiple reasons why these big businessmen should be remembered as “Captains of Industry”. One example is their generosity towards the...
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...Reading Response “At the helm stood such unimaginably wealthy men such as Andrew Carnegie, Philip Danforth Armour, Jay Gould, and John D. Rockefeller, all powerful leaders of a new national business community.” Out of Many Volume Two. Edition Four. Page 567 The wealth and power of the United States can be accounted for through some of the bigger names of the late 1800’s and 1900’s. Big businesses came from big names during this time. While the more popular view is to see big businesses as negative, these figures saw business as a chance to grow and took advantage of this and the wealth that came along with it. Andrew Carnegie, known for his roll in dominating the steel industry. Philip Danforth Armour, known for adding to the industrialization of the meat-packing industry. Jay Gould, who was an american railroad finance is one of the less liked wealthy men in the book. John D. Rockefeller is a perfect example of wealth from horizontal integration through gaining the majority of the oil supply. One of the more popular names is Andrew Carnegie. Known as the “captain of industry” and “the richest man in the world,” started from nothing and worked his way up in life. He began his life as a poor immigrant from Scotland and eventually grew from being a messenger, to the secretary for the superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s. His employment under the superintendent allowed him to learn how business works and eventually step into the roll of superintendent himself...
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...nation. Industrialization was very beneficial to American business owners. Following the civil war, industries transformed into modern powerhouses. Big business owners who seized power in these industries became even bigger. New inventions led to new thriving industries. Iron, for example, was replaced with ultra-strong steel. One main reason why steel was in such demand was due to the expansion of railroads. Andrew Carnegie built the biggest steel business in the world. By 1900, Carnegie Steel earned a whopping $40 million a year (Roark, 547). He believed that big businesses such as this actually improved the overall well being of the nation- rich and poor. In his letter entitled Wealth, Carnegie states, “...the millionaire will be about a trustee for the poor, entrusted for a season with a great part of increased wealth of the community, but administering it for the community far better than it could or would have done for itself...” (Johnson, 54). Another captain of industry during industrialization was John D. Rockefeller. John D. Rockefeller is the founder of the Standard Oil Co. and is said to be the richest American ever. By 1890, Standard Oil Co. controlled more than 90% of the oil business (Roark, 548). Rockefeller was so powerful that even the government feared him. By making secret deals with railroad companies and holding extreme prices, Rockefeller cut out any competition that even thought about going against him. Many people call him the symbol of...
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...What are some arguments in favor of the Robber Barons (or captains of industry)? Just as professor Burton mentioned, the Robber Barons were not one sided, in that they were only good or bad. The truth is that they were complex individuals that did do good and bad things. In addition, one argument in favor of Robber Barons consists of the philanthropy that these individuals practiced. Consequently, in many cases their intentions may be maleficent, however, if the donations that these individuals made to society helped, then they can be labeled as beneficial. For example, Daniel Drew built several churches; helped found Drew Theological Seminary and Drew Seminary for Young Ladies. These institutions helped society in a positive fashion. Additionally,...
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...People who had grown up in poverty were becoming rich and the social classes of many were changing. Capitalism was born as businessman rushed into ways of growing their companies. With different perspectives, Historians truly view the leaders of the business in different forms. For one, some believe the leaders to be “robber barons;” in other words, it means that the leader had built their fortune by stealing from the public and driving competition into ruin. Nevertheless, some believed the leaders to be “captains of industry,” implying they were fair to the nation and in raising productivity, expanding markets, and establishing public structures. One of these leaders was John D. Rockefeller, a man who became one of the richest men in America in the oil business. As the leader of the Standard Oil Company, Rockefeller had much to give to the public and charities to benefit humanity as his goal. Another one of these leaders in Andrew Carnegie, a man who expanded the real of the steel business and also gave muc to the public. Much of Carnegie’s share to public eye went to education and public structures. Nevertheless, behind these nice images, they remain to be addressed as “Robber Barons” by...
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...some of the people who contributed most to America's rise did not come from wealth. Cornelius Vanderbilt, one of the wealthiest Americans of the 19th century, was not born with an abundance of money. He worked hard to build the empire he created. As a kid he worked with his father on a ferry that transported goods around New York. After working as a steamboat captain he invested in steamboats and cultivated one of the country's largest steamship operators. He was a fear and ruthless and gained a reputation for it. Vanderbilt also knew potential when he saw it. In the 1860s, he shifted his focus towards railroads and built another empire. His fierceness made him one of the best entrepreneurs in history and when he died he was worth more than $100 million. Vanderbilt, however, wasn't the only entrepreneur that knew opportunity when they saw it. John D. Rockefeller knew when and how to take risks. Rockefeller knew that oil was the future of America, but he also knew oil was extremely costly to mine. Instead of wasting a fortune on mining oil he went into refining oil and founded the Standard Oil Company. Rockefeller was also innovative and minimized costs by transporting crude oil through pipes rather than train. He, later, started to buy own failing refineries and started an empire. By the 1880s controlled about 90 percent of U.S. refineries and oil pipelines. He was attempting to gain a...
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