Analysis Of The Myth Of Robber Barons

James Buchanan Duke was a tobacco and electric power industrialist in the mid-1800s and early 1900s. Duke would not be considered a robber baron due to the fact that he took advantage of the opportunity to sell his own tobacco after the Civil War was over and the tobacco business wasn’t thriving. He also did so without being evil or dishonest.

Carnegie, Rockefeller, and JP Morgan really are Robber barons because of what they have done to their workers including the conditions they were kept in. More evidence is that Andrew Carnegie is a Robber baron because he decreased his workers salary by 33% because his workers wanted coal and food in the winter. They asked for these things because they were starving and close to freezing to death, they needed help but they were too greedy to help them, but when they did help their workers they decreased salary or made them work longer to get the money back that they “wasted” on the workers who cared enough to help them in the beginning. But I have a couple extra examples to support my claim. J. P. Morgan is also a Robber Baron because of the

What is a robber baron? Webster’s New Dictionary defines it as an American capitalist of the late 19th century who became wealthy through exploitation (As of natural resources, governmental influence, or low wage scales) or a person who satisfies himself by depriving another. In America we had a lot of these kind of people. For this report I am going to tell you about the ones that I found most interesting to me. I would first like to tell you about Cornelius Vanderbilt.

The Myth of Robber Barons is a short, but excellent book that talks about the entrepreneurs of early America. It argues against the misconception that the successful businessmen of the 19th century, often called the “robber barons”, amassed a big fortune by robbing the general public, whereas, they became wealthy because they offered good quality products and services at low prices which in turn attracted so many Americans to do business with them.

Business leaders of the late 1800's were "Robber Barons" because they treated their workers poorly, controlled the industry and government , and they were greedy.

Reformer Ida B. Tarbell was a muckracker who wrote for McClure’s Magazine in the 1920s. As a muckracker, Tarbell would bring to light issues affected the American people. More specifically, in her “History of the Standard Oil Company”, Tarbell documented how Rockefeller ruthlessly squeezed out competitors with unfair business practices. With Tarbell’s writings, the middle class was able to respond with great moral exhortation. In addition Tarbell exposed the corruption of these companies such as Rockefeller’s oil company to a large audience of citizens and placed politicians under great duress to serve the interests of the people. For example, President Theodore Roosevelt fought to end the trusts and was known as a “trust buster” (Doc. A). Roosevelt was adamant about getting rid of the bad trusts and keeping the “good trusts”. In 1890, Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act in an attempt to break up massive monopolies dominating the American economy. The Sherman Antitrust Act was unsuccessful because it did not include a method of enforcement; however that was not the last attempt to bring about an end to bad trusts. In 1914, President Wilson gained passage of the Clayton Antitrust Act. This act was more strict than that of the Sherman Antitrust Act barring companies from creating a monopoly on products (Doc. E). President Wilson was ultimately successful in the passage of

During the Gilded Age, industrialists were divided into two main categories: Captains of Industry or Robber Barons. Captains of Industry were industrialists who were very wealthy, but used their wealth to give back to the country, such as building libraries or donating to schools. Robber Barons were businessmen who used unethical ways to get wealthy. This essay will be addressing if the industrialists of the gilded age were captains of industry or if they were robber barons.

Robber Barons took over the era of the late 1800s when they oppressed the poor and had big business on the rise. A robber baron is a super rich person that amasses wealth by paying low wages and treating workers badly, who likes to be called, “Captains of Industry”. Robber Barons believed in Laissez Faire because they think the economy does best when the government doesn’t get involved and let’s businesses do whatever they please. They invented industries that would take over other companies and have a huge impact on urbanization. Yes, the barons had a positive effect on the world by creating resources that would change the game forever and resources that the world needs in order to evolve, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that they have had a negative impact on their employee’s lives by being inconsiderate of their needs and their work ethic.

The model for big business was created in late-nineteenth-century America through industrialization. Some men became millionaires, while others sank farther into poverty. Some view these people as Captains of Industry, and some see them as Robber Barons. No matter what view one holds of these men, people like Rockefeller and Carnegie changed the model of business and success in America forever.

Vanderbilt was a Robber Baron. He stepped on people, stabbed them in the back, and did lots of other things to get where he was. He was the most powerful man in the country. He owned most of the railroads. He wanted them all of them though.

The Greek Philosopher Plato once said “The measure of a man is what he does with power.” Plato’s quote is a true statement because the power he could be talking about what level of morality people use the power on. Robber Barons and captains of industry from the late 1800s have been measured based on morality whether they are atrocious or honorable people. To understand this further, Robber Barons are judged as villainous, they are owners of a company that has become excessively rich through ruthless and unethical business practices. Robber Barons treated workers in an inadequate way by giving them low wages and corrupted the legislators. On the Kohlbergs scale of morality Robber barrons would act on individualism and exchange. Captain’s of

Money Makes the world go around. Is a very common phrase that we hear often. The Robber Baron were individual whom represent the phrase a lot. A Robber Baron were businessmen in the United States Industrial Revolution of the 1800's who were wealthy by taking people’s land, money, or someone else business in a rather dishonest way. They are knowledgeable about their ways but only interested in getting more more money. Robber Barons are called so because of their greed and ruthlessness, their unethical business practices, and their total lack of concern for their workers, their customers or their competitors. An example of a robber baron in that time will be Andrew Carnegie, JD Rockefeller, and JP Morgan. The Robber Baron made the American

The old saying you have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet holds true for the captains of industry or the so-called robber barons. Although the captains of industry drove some people and businesses into the ground; ultimately the captains of industry made the United States and the rest of the world a better place. Granted, many of the captains of industry used questionable business practiced that drove their profits to unprecedented levels. In addition, these captains of industry had many government officials under their thumbs, which only increased their income further. However, these same men founded and donated to colleges and universities, one of these millionaires donated to black colleges, and others created libraries (Zinn 53). In

Rockefeller’s success with Standard Oil, furthermore, left a stronger positive impact on United States industry than negative. Amidst the court cases and accusations of bitter historians, the success of the business venture led to the success of industry and acted as a future inspiration for capitalist business for the future.

Without any laws to govern the oil business and prices, rebates on posted railroad rates and drawbacks on competitors were received and demanded by Rockefeller (Pratt, 2012). He also used industrial spies to beat competetitors with preditory pricing (Pratt, 2012). This type of dominant or monopolistic behavior by Rockfeller and Standard Oil caused the government to impose antitrust laws to create an competitive