Captains Of Industry

There were many conflicting views during the Gilded Age. Some viewed those at the top of the socio-economic ladder as robber-barons due to the vast amount of wealth that never seemed to extend to the workers in terms of salary or safety. However, some called them captains of industries, those who bettered the economy and the lives of workers. These people had an enormous positive impact on the country’s businesses and philanthropy on American economy and society. They transformed America into the most powerful industrial nation, leading the country’s charge by building powerful industries.

Although some of these criticisms are well founded, men like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were, in fact, Captains of Industry because they employed millions and created new ways of doing business. Before all these industrialists can along, America was just another country that had little significance to the world. If it was not for them, we as a nation would not be where we are today. The industrialists prospered mainly due to their wit, and the many innovations that they brought to their various fields of business. They created monopolies because they were the most effective forms of enterprise, and there were no laws that prohibited or restricted their use. As John D. Rockefeller himself said, "I believe in the spirit of combination and cooperation when properly conducted….It helps to reduce waste, and waste is a dissipation of power."(Danzer 424) Critics say that these men ruthlessly took over their fields of business, and "did not play fair". What's wrong with striving for success? What's wrong with being efficient? What's wrong with making a product that no one can equal? What's wrong with besting your competitors? Nothing.

Henry Ford, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Andrew Carnegie were captains of industry and helped shape America into what it is today. A Captain of Industry is someone who is beneficial to America. While Ford, Vanderbilt, and Carnegie were all in different businesses, they still were able to benefit each other. Vanderbilt helped to transport people from place to place, which boosted the transportation industry. Under his influence, Ford was able to produce automobiles. Vanderbilt and Ford both used Carnegie’s steel to build train tracks and cars. These men all contributed to current American transportation, technology, and businesses. Without them, the United States of America would not have evolved into what it is today. In fact, U.S. steel and

Another good example that helped the U.S to industrialize rapidly was new technologies. It was also considered the “The Age of Great Invention.” So many new things

Industrialists at the turn of the 20th century best deserve the title of Captains of Industry because, there have been many industrial achievements in this century. There has been a copious amount of new inventions in this century. Some of these inventions are made for entertainment, but some are made for our own conveniences. Companies have also increased their technology and machines have replaced the work that humans used to have to do, this has decreased human labor and the harshness of work. Thus, this decade deserves the title of Captains of Industry because, we have advanced society and created some places better to work in.

One of the pioneers of the Big Business I chose to research is Andrew Carnegie. In this paper I will include how was his business and how did Mr. Carnegie started his business. I will also talk about how his business grew to the level it did. The good and bad effects of the business in the 19th century, How Mr. Carnegie business affected society today, what were the pros and cons of this business, if this cons and pros still exist.

Though historians have always argued whether the capitalists of this time period that shaped the post Civil War industrial America as either “captains of industry” or “robber barons” the evidence weighing towards the robber baron description are much heavier. These men greatly influence society and will forever be in the debate of the question whether they actually influenced the society and economics in a beneficial way or damaging. To this day the popular opinion is split half and half between the beneficial and damaging sides and there does not seem to be any upcoming

The American business giants of the Gilded Age were captains of industry. The men and women who lived in this time period took risks in search of wealth. Some entrepreneurs didn’t earn that wealth in a good way. However, they did what they needed to pursue their dreams. Some became very successful, creating monopolies like Rockefeller Oil. Others weren’t so lucky and went bankrupt.

Shrey Saretha 2/8/15 P.4 Industrialization Document Based Question From 1865 to 1900, the United States of America was going through a period of industrialization. This transformation of the U.S. society to a society primarily based on the manufacturing of various goods and services produced a wide range of effects and reactions from the American society at that time. Although some historians may argue that industrialization had a mainly negative effect on U.S. society due to the unfair and now illegal practices taking place at that time, the reforms that took place because of these practices helped create many positive changes for society that still exist today. The initial positive outcomes of industrialization, the negative outcomes, and

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.

Throughout the developing stages of the United states, many people played very key parts in their way of dealing with industrialization and helping our country grow. Andrew Carnegie is the man known for taking over the steel industry. Carnegie had done his research and planning to try to take over the steel industry. Rockefeller is another big name that will be remembered as the man who took over the oil industry. Rockefeller was a man of his patience and wisdom to force his competition out of business instead of taking over. Now, Rockefeller and Carnegie are two names that sit a top of a fence. Robber Barons on one side and Captains of Industry on the other.

Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, J.P Morgan and Andrew Carnegie, all examples of robber barons during the time after civil war. They, along with many other great businessmen, pushed America to become an industrialized country. Rockefeller owned 90% of oil refineries, that is just one example of how the power these industrialists had was unbalanced. The industrialists were egocentric. Money was the focus all across the nation, and it didn’t matter who got treated unfairly along the way. In Document A, George states “instead of being treated as the common property of the whole people, it is treated as the private property of individuals”. Where you find wealth, you will find that the land contains monopolies.

The government also enacted the Hepburn Act, which made shipping internationally difficult on the railroad. Despite the fact that government grants led to incompetent railroads, the Interstate Commerce Commission and Hepburn Act were put into place, which made it so Hill “could not offer rate discounts on exports traveling on the Great Northern en route to the Orient” which was helping improve the economy with increased trade. Hill and other market entrepreneurs were not corrupt or unfair when choosing to not have subsides, but rather the political entrepreneurs were corrupt and insolvent. Also, Folsom argues that John D. Rockefeller was negatively impacted by government intervention. The Sherman Act was intended “to prevent monopolies and those companies ‘in restraint of trade’. Yet Standard Oil had no monopoly and certainly was not restraining trade” . Rockefeller’s goal was not to create a monopoly but in order to keep his business succeeding he needed directors in each state. By enacting the Sherman Act, Rockefeller’s company struggled, due to competition rising. These laws essentially stopped the growth of successful businesses, such as Hill and Rockefeller, who became so successful due to no government intervention.

In “The Gospel of Wealth”, Andrew Carnegie claims that wealth should be administered for the “common good” of a community, instead of merely distributed to the people within it. More specifically, he frowns upon the rich men who bequeath money to their heirs after their death, instead of donating to public institutions during their lifetime. The latter action will, according to Carnegie, “derive lasting advantage [from the masses of their fellows], and thus dignify their own lives.” (Carnegie, 13) He uses the creation of the Cooper Institute, a private humanities college, as well as Samuel Tilden’s posthumous funding of the New York Public Library as examples of publicly beneficial administrations of wealth.

“As the growth of industrial development increased so did the accumulation of massive industries and corporations”. This had changed The United States of America into being urbanized instead of being a rural area. Then many businessmen like Andrew Carnegie, John D Rockefeller, and Cornelius Vanderbilt had big industrial tycoons which had a massive benefit for them and for their society because they had an increase in mass production which ultimately changed the face of the United States of America from being a rural society into being an urban society.