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The 1800's was the beginning of something new for America, It was the rise of American industry. Cornelius Vanderbilt had a huge role in American industry. Vanderbilt was responsible for developing much of the the transportation system in the middle and later part of the 19th century in the North East part of the United States. He was responsible for both boats and trains. I think Cornelius Vanderbilt has made a huge impact on the American Industry because of what he has accomplished in his life like taking over the train industry. Even though he was a very ruthless and determined man he was also a very hardworking and succesful man, I believe Vanderbilts life shows the true story of rags to riches.…
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The Gilded Age was a time in America between the 1870s to 1900s in which there was great improvements for becoming a global industry. During this time period, there was many union strikes because of the unfair working conditions that the immigrants were facing. The United States was trying to move forward and become an international market, but my doing so they stopped regulating safety and cleanliness for the workers. One of the famous organizations that sought to improve better working conditions were “The Molly Maguires.” The Molly Maguires was not a successful labor union, but they did inspire other labor unions to form and lead to fight against the big industrial companies to get better working conditions.…
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As mentioned earlier, during the Gilded Age, there was a belief in monopolies by robber barons of society and taking out businesses. For example, a businessman named John D. Rockefeller known as a robber baron of society during this time period. This was because he ended up taking over the oil business by building trusts. These trusts then made him in control of the entire oil business and eventually eliminating all competing oil businesses. Although, these…
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More often than not, America’s antebellum capitalists are accused of being the “robber barons” of industrial America. The misconception is that these men took advantage of a naïve and growing economy and reaped its benefits without giving anything in return. True, the majority of America was poor in comparison to the few elites, but the philanthropist efforts and contributions of these men cannot be denied. If not for these men and their efforts, there would have been no one to pave the road to America’s industrial domination.…
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The robber barons of the early industrial age, and one modern day baron have been accused of creating monopolies over several different areas. The four barons focused upon are Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Bill Gates. They have all created monopolies over their respected industry. These monopolies eliminated all opposition and left consumers with only one choice.…
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The period of invention after the Civil War set the stage for immense industrial growth (Cayton 237). This period of time in the late 1800's is known as the Industrial Revolution. Two prominent names in big business were John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. There is no doubt that these people left their mark on business and on history. However, there is some dispute over how these individuals should be portrayed. Some people say that they were robber barons, while others insist that they were captains of industry. A captain of industry is someone who is perceived to have helped the nation through their business skills and their philanthropy. On the other hand, a robber baron was someone who was considered a ruthless businessman. In the public's opinion a robber baron wouldn't let anything stop them from obtaining wealth. In my opinion Rockefeller and Carnegie were captains of industry.…
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Rockefeller, the oil baron; J.P. Morgan, the bankers' banker; captains of industry or robber barons? There has been much debate over the answer of that question. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that these men helped create large trusts and monopolies in their respective businesses. The "Millionaire's Club", or the Senate, is portrayed as being ruled by large trusts in a cartoon by Joseph Keppler, exemplifying the popular belief that the government was just as corrupt as the trusts, and looked out for their interests (Doc M). To control these trusts and others, the largely unsuccessful Sherman Anti-Trust Act was signed into law in 1890. The Act declared illegal every contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of interstate and foreign trade and authorized the federal government to institute proceedings against trusts, yet federal authorities were prevented from using the act for some years due to Supreme Court rulings. Ohio Senator John Sherman, for whom the bill was named, proclaimed in his speech to the Senate that the bill does not interfere with lawful trade, only unlawful combinations (Doc N). "The power to regulate commerce is the power to prescribe the rule by which commerce shall be governed, and is a power independent of the power to suppress monopoly," professed Chief Justice M. W. Fuller, speaking for the Supreme Court in the case of United States v. E. C. Knight Company (Doc P). President Grover Cleveland agreed with the Act as well, stating in his Second Inaugural Message in 1893 that the existence of trusts that limit production and fix prices goes against the "fair field" and the government should alleviate people from their interference (Doc…
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[ 7 ]. Jerry Markham A Financial History of the United States Volume 1 From Christopher Columbus to the Robber Barons (1492-1900). (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharp Inc., 2004.) 88…
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People argue whether John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Henry Ford are robber barons or captains of industry. Robber barons were business leaders who built their fortunes by stealing from the public and captains of industry were business leaders who served their nation in a positive way. These three entrepreneurs were robber barons, for they either did many good things for the nation but had tricks up their sleeve, or were just leaders that treated people unfairly. Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie were robber barons during the 1900’s. John D. Rockefeller was a robber baron because he monopolized the oil industry, barely donated to the community and led the workers to harsh conditions. When Rockefeller monopolized the industry, it was bad enough that he was going against the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890, which stated that having a monopoly was illegal. He even stated, “The coal oil business belongs to us,” after owning most of the companies due to his monopoly. The trick behind this act was to lower the prices of oil so everyone could afford it. Even though this sounds very beneficial for the community, it was bad once Rockefeller was able to own every single company and raise the prices back up, leaving the people with no choice. Since automobiles were also much cheaper and more consumers were buying them, it would lead to more consumers buying oil from Rockefeller and only him. People stated he was a captain of industry because he helped people in poverty, but raising prices back up would not make it any better. Rockefeller also donated $8 billion to the economy, along with controlling 1.52% of it. Even though $8 billion was an extreme amount of money, it was nothing compared to his $66.3 billion dollars. Finally, Rockefeller’s workers were working in harsh conditions and treated unfairly. Even though he gave bonuses and high wages so they could work harder, only the unemployed men were…
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Long hours, dangerous work conditions, and low wages are just a few words to describe the treatment of workers at the turn of the 20th century. This was all in the hands of some powerful industrialist we refer to as "robber barons". There can be no mistaking their motives: wealth. It portrays men like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Pullman, Ford and cruel and ruthless businessmen who would stop at nothing to achieve great wealth.They cared little about the lives and treatment of those that worked under them, and reside in their towns. They were in many cases accused of disregard of workers' rights, exploitation of resources, and concentration of wealth. In my perpective, it is true.…
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Age of Betrayal: The Triumph of Money in America 1865-1900. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Print.…
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These men were robber barons. They treated their workers very poorly. Rockefeller would make his workers work long desilet hours for very little pay. Carnage made his employees work long hours and little pay. He even tried to stop unios in his company. Carnegie competed fiercely in business and tried to squash organized labor. Rockefeller, and Carnegie were robber barons. It explains how they treated their workers very badly and how little they paid them.…
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In the nineteenth century, there were two industrialists and one of them was the Captain of Industry. But, we’re going to focus on the Robber Baron, they’re known more for their dirty work. Some examples are bad political practices, business reforms, and treated their workers poorly in terms of labor. Many people don’t know what these industrialist did to the public to gain their wealth, but now you’ll know the bitter truth.…
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John D. Rockefeller could certainly be considered a robber baron due to the fact that, through bad contracts and tricky legislation, he took money from small businesses for his economic gain. A merchant in Nashville, Tennessee refused to buy from Standard Oil and, mysteriously, his rates for shipping were doubled, then tripled; the man…
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Because of the control over multiple industries, the leaders of these monopolies had such a big impact on the economy, that politicians had to give them a lot of respect. In document B, George McNeill explains how corrupt these monopolies are and why they are able to control the government. He was writing this to inform the American public about why these monopolies should not be allowed. However, he is the leader of a labor movement, which was extremely against any of the big businesses. His viewpoint shows how much disdain the normal American worker had for these big businesses. Similarly, the political cartoon in document D displays these massive industries as towering over the small politicians in the Senate. It was also created to display to the American citizens how the government was being controlled by these titans of industry. It is most likely of the viewpoint of an American citizen of the working class who wanted to show others how these big businesses were corrupting the government. Document F is a more official standpoint of a group of working class people who are trying to rid America of these businesses being involved with politics. The point of view of an American worker displays how much the normal person disapproved of business mixing with politics. Big business and its involvement in American politics left many American citizens very…
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