D B Q PAGE 353 Write a coherent essay that integrates your interpretation of Documents A–H and your knowledge of the period to answer the following question: To what extent is it justified to characterize the industrial leaders of the 1865–1900 era as either “robber barons” or “industrial statesmen”? DOCUMENT A. Q: How is the freight and passenger pool working? W.V.: Very satisfactorily. I don’t like that expression “pool,” how- ever, that’s a common construction applied by the people to a combi- nation which the leading roads have entered into to keep rates at a point where they will pay dividends to the stockholders. The railroads are not run for the benefit of the “dear public”—that cry is all nonsense—they are built by men who …show more content…
While the law may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it insures the survival of the fittest in every department. We welcome, therefore, as conditions to which we must accommodate ourselves, great inequality of envi- ronment, the concentration of business, industrial and commercial, in the hands of a few; and the law of competition between these, as being not only beneficial, but essential for the future progress of the race. Andrew Carnegie, “Wealth,” North American Review, 1889 DOCUMENT D. It is clear that trusts are contrary to public policy and hence in conflict with the common law. They are monopolies organized to destroy competition and restrain trade. . . . It is contended by those interested in trusts that they tend to cheapen production and diminish the price of the article to the consumer. . . . Trusts are speculative in their purpose and formed to make money. Once they secure control of a given line of business, they are masters of the situation and can dictate to the two great classes with which they deal—the producer of the raw material and the consumer of the finished product. They limit the price of the raw material so as to impoverish the producer, drive him to a single market, reduce the price of every class of labor connected with the trade, throw out of employment large numbers of persons who had before been engaged in a meritorious calling and finally . . . they increase the price to the
The following question requires you to write a coherent essay incorporating your interpretation of the documents and your knowledge of the period specified in the question. To earn a high score you are required to cite key pieces of evidence from the documents and draw on your knowledge of the period.
Reunited by the Union victory in the Civil War, America faced an era of reconstruction during which the value of the individual was reanalyzed and redefined in law. After the reconstruction, a sense of peace and prosperity calmed the American people. Given hope by their success in maintaining the Union, the Progressive Era ensued. The previously forgotten vision of Alexander Hamilton was reborn and finally implemented. America was no longer the land of the yeoman farmer. Denizens of rural areas moved to the city and sought to work in the gradually industrializing regions of the country. As big business gained power, the laborers sought to achieve the American Dream of economic prosperity through self-improvement in a laissez faire economy.
Who wants to be a millionaire? The answers simple, apparently all of the bright men within the nineteenth century during the attractive booming economy. Whereas, the Gilded Age struck the people after the Civil War and the revolution of the railways brought with it, a spur of industrialization. The markets for manufactured goods were stimulated, more commerce was beckoned with foreign and domestic investors, and even the process of raw materials going to the factories was sped. Although sounding like a luxurious period for all, the main beneficiaries became know as the robber barons as they manipulated the public and business to their needs, established the visible social classes, and used laborers with little discretion for age.
The post-Civil War was a time of reform and industrialization. The United States was recovering from a war that left the nation in shambles, left with none other than itself to rejuvenate. As America strived to get back on its feet big companies also attempted to contribute to helping the economy. However, their efforts and intentions does not alternate the fact that numerous issues were still at large. On one hand these alleged captains of industry have created numerous job opportunities and built many factories, but on the other hand, the employees were underpaid and mistreated and that their entire wealth is based on corrupt actions. While they did keep the economy going and the United States wealthy, robber barons manipulated and preyed
This act didn’t cause any influencial effect on trusts but brought a Supreme Court case United States v. E.C. Knight Company. The Court ruled that the American Sugar Refining Company, one of the other defendants in the case, had not violated the law even though the company controlled about 98 percent of all sugar refining in the United States. The Court opinion reasoned that the company’s control of manufacture did not constitute a control of trade. The Court’s ruling in E. C. Knight seemed to end any government regulation of
1. Explain whom Vanderbilt, Carnegie and Rockefeller are. Should industrialists like Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and Rockefeller be viewed as “robber barons” or “captains of industry”? Define “robber barons” and “captains of industry. Analyze your perspective as fully as you can.
Which robber Barton / captain of industry had the biggest impact on the United States. I think there are many other people who I can write an essay about , but due to the fact that I am limited to three people who impacted the industry . I would have to choose Rockefeller simply because of how he was presented with problems early on in life and during his rich phase and succeeded.
The late 1800s was a time where the American way of life was still developing, including the government. The acquiescent government was certainly not the best. They were unfair in many ways. Businesses were corrupt due to Robber Barons, and the loyal citizens were greatly affected. If the government was ruled by transcendentalists, then they would rule with intuition over reason. If the government was ruled by Robber Barons, then there would certainly be more corruption occurring in the country. The government gave a lot of unnecessary subsidies to businesses who ended up failing. The more active participation from the government and a better relationship with the citizens of America would have posolutely ensured the most successful America.
During the Industrial Revolution, robber barons corrupted the government. The greedy robber barons overpowered the working class. With that massive wealth, they created monopolies.
In the 1870s the term began to be used to describe business tycoons, and the usage persisted throughout the rest of the 19th century. The late 1800s and the first decade of the 20th century is sometimes referred to as an age of robber barons. “Like those old German barons who, from their eyries along the Rhine, swooped down upon the commerce of the noble river and wrung tribute from every passenger that floated by,” Raymond wrote, “Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt . . . has insisted that the Pacific Company should pay him toll, taken of all America that had business with California.” Railroad builders in particular, needing political influence to build their railways, became adept at influencing politicians through the use of lobbyists, or in some
The name came from the specific situation that inspired their inception: checking the abuses of the huge “trusts” that emerged in the late 19th century. The massive trusts controlled or very nearly controlled entire markets in major areas (i.e. steel, petroleum, rail transport,
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the industrial revolution was a period when English society experienced a radical shift in terms of industrial expertise. T. S. Ashton, former University of London Economic History Professor, supports this statement saying, “The industrial revolution was in part cause, and in part effect, of a heightening and extension of the principle of specialization” (The Industrial Revolution 15). England experienced an extreme period of product specialization within the manufacturing system which included production of products, the structure of labor techniques, and the acceptance of improvements throughout the industrial society.
The social constructs of laws relate it to be something of complexity, where one’s rights and protections are imagined to be difficult to find. The law is an historic and modern aspect of the world, ensuring uniformity. It is important for the law to become not only a creator, but also a product of its environment. It is evident that laws have progressed over the years, reflecting social values, where laws responded to its time. For society to accept the law and for its effectiveness, it must be made for society to follow and reflect their social values.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth century there was the Industrial Revolution which resulted in society basing their work and life more on factories and production instead of on agriculture . Alongside industrialisation came capitalism which had the aim of creating profit; urbanism which consisted of mass amounts of people moving from rural to urban areas; and liberal democracy which emphasised the citizenship rights of each person and how they could make decisions on how to change their country rather than having to follow the rule of a monarch which loosely ties in with micro theories. Lee and Newby (1983) noted that “there was widespread agreement among observers and commentators at this time that Northern Europe and North America were passing through the most profound transformation of society in the history of mankind” in the early nineteenth century . Along with these developments which affected the way people worked was the Enlightenment which was a time period in which people chose scientific and objective ways of understanding the world rather than blind faith in religion and superstition .Through this new grasp and use of reason and rationality, sociology was clearly bound to develop in some way as people were becoming more educated and their minds were being opened to vast new possibilities of what they could achieve.
In line with the topic I have been given, I shall discuss one after the other, the importance of law to an individual, organization and the economy of a country at large; showing clearly, how law has succeeded in reconciling these various interests. First is the individual