U.S. History
Vincent Fernandez
Captains of Industry or Robber Barons?
4/11/13
U.S. History Per. 7 The industrialists of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries are best characterized as Robber Barons. I believe the majority of industrialists of this time period are Robber Barons because out of all the industrialists I’ve researched very few were Captains of Industry. For example some industrialists of this time that I researched were Andrew Carnegie, Jay Gould, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and John D. Rockefeller. Out these four industrialists the only one that is a Captain of Industry in my opinion is Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie proved that he was a Captain of Industry in many ways by building the largest steel industry of his time, donating his fortune to fund libraries, and by founding and constructing many buildings; including the Carnegie hall in New York City. He also created a pension fund for thousands of employees, which gave them financial freedom. The difference between Carnegie and all the other industrialists was he wasn’t just concerned about investing all his wealth in himself, he showed how much of a philanthropist he truly was in many ways. All of the other industrialists that include Gould, Vanderbilt, and Rockefeller were some of the most crooked and corrupt industrialists of their time. These men were considered Robber Barons in many ways, Gould formed is reputation by performing many illegal actions in his railroad business such as bribing public officials and watering stock. He also used Monopolies as his business strategy in his railroad business to make him rich. Vanderbilt and Rockefeller were both similar to Gould in that they use monopolies to earn their fortunes. Vanderbilt built one of the largest and most successful railroad companies and Rockefeller was the first U.S. billionaire through his Standard Oil Company. All 3 of these industrialists used illegal actions and crooked business strategies to earn their fortunes and make this
Captains of Industry or Robber Barons?
4/11/13
U.S. History Per. 7 The industrialists of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries are best characterized as Robber Barons. I believe the majority of industrialists of this time period are Robber Barons because out of all the industrialists I’ve researched very few were Captains of Industry. For example some industrialists of this time that I researched were Andrew Carnegie, Jay Gould, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and John D. Rockefeller. Out these four industrialists the only one that is a Captain of Industry in my opinion is Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie proved that he was a Captain of Industry in many ways by building the largest steel industry of his time, donating his fortune to fund libraries, and by founding and constructing many buildings; including the Carnegie hall in New York City. He also created a pension fund for thousands of employees, which gave them financial freedom. The difference between Carnegie and all the other industrialists was he wasn’t just concerned about investing all his wealth in himself, he showed how much of a philanthropist he truly was in many ways. All of the other industrialists that include Gould, Vanderbilt, and Rockefeller were some of the most crooked and corrupt industrialists of their time. These men were considered Robber Barons in many ways, Gould formed is reputation by performing many illegal actions in his railroad business such as bribing public officials and watering stock. He also used Monopolies as his business strategy in his railroad business to make him rich. Vanderbilt and Rockefeller were both similar to Gould in that they use monopolies to earn their fortunes. Vanderbilt built one of the largest and most successful railroad companies and Rockefeller was the first U.S. billionaire through his Standard Oil Company. All 3 of these industrialists used illegal actions and crooked business strategies to earn their fortunes and make this