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How Did Robber Baron Build Business During The Gilded Age

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The Gilded Age which is the time period 30 years after the civil war, is when the economy went through a period of intense growth. The railroad industry was considered the start of the economic growth during the civil war. Many Businessmen of the period, such as Andrew Carnegie the controller of the steel industry, Jay Gould and Cornelius Vanderbilt, who were successful in the railroad industry, John D. Rockefeller who dominated the oil industry, and J.P Morgan who was very successful in the banking industry, they were often criticized for having monopolies and treating their workers poorly. Many Businessmen practiced the philosophy of Social Darwinism is when only the strong survive based Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Robber Baron was an industrialist during the Gilded Age who was powerful and wealthy Businessmen, he became wealthy by treating his workers terribly and other questionable and unethical tactics. Robber Baron became a term to describe Businessmen who did similar things like Baron. In the Gilded Age some businessmen had a vision and invested time and money to let grow with the economy such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, many businessmen donated to gifts to organizations such as schools, churches, and hospitals, businessmen such as Vanderbilt and people who practiced similar ways of entrepreneurship and donated …show more content…

During the Gilded Age many workers were forced to work long hours for little pay while the businessmen make way more in a day than what they would make in a year. Child labor during the Gilded Age was 5% of the workforce and working conditions in factories and mines were terrible. During the Gilded Age anyone became if they tried, also work in factories and mines was a more reliable source of income than work on farmers. Businessmen gave people a more reliable source of income, and that makes them Captains of

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The United States experienced unparalleled growth during the period of time following the Civil War, known as the Gilded Age, with city expansion supported by new and growing industries, railroad expansion, technological inventions, GNP increases, skyscrapers being built, and more. While many view the industrialists of the Gilded Age as Captains of Industry for the way they grew America economically and lifestyles-wise, they were really Robber Barons because of the fraudulent, corrupt actions they took to hurt both their consumers and their laborers. While the Gilded Age industrialists were truly Robber Barons, the way in which they contributed to and improved America's overall lifestyle exhibited that they were also characteristic of Captains

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When it comes to the terms “Robber Barons” or “Captains of Industry” an automatic focus brings and individual to three key historical figures including Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie. Whether or not an individual agrees with the given terms jointly or feels stronger about one way or the other, there is plenty of information to support either side or both sides simultaneously. I feel that as time has gone on from the 19th century to present day the roles have changed from “Robber Barons” to “Captains of Industry” with the continued progression of everyday living. The “Robber Barons” began with Vanderbilt, an aggressive, rude, competitive steamboat owner/operator turned railroad owner. He was known in the steamboat

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Captains of Industry or Robber Barons? “What do I care about the law? Ain’t I got the power?” This is a quote from the business magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who was the leader of the railroad industry during the Gilded Age. The Gilded Age was a superficial period in the US History, in which the economy grew at a suprising rate.

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When Cornelius Vanderbilt died he left his $100 million fortune to his son William Vanderbilt and they both had the same attitude. During the Gilded Age these big business and their owners were thought of as being Robber Barons or Captains of Industry. The poor working conditions that were provided, the corruption they led in government, and their use of child labor shows that they were Robber Barons. Children were used in labor to work a lot and most days of the week. Kids as young as 5 often worked as much as 12 to 14 hours a day for barely any pay.

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Robber barons, specifically Andrew Carnegie, an industrialist and John D. Rockefeller, a philanthropist, were the chosen, elite members of society according to the doctrine of Social Darwinism. Darwinism is when evolution occurs and the strongest organisms of an ecosystem survive and reproduce to outnumber the weaker, less fit organisms of an ecosystem. Similarly Social Darwinism follows the same concept, but in a capitalist sense of thought. Those who were able to exploit the Gilded Age’s laissez faire economy to their own benefit, like the robber barons Andrew Carnegie of Carnegie Steel and J. D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil, were the fittest members of society because they were able to survive in the grueling and ruthless free economy. By usurping all of the fresh yet unfit immigrants that were flowing into the States due to the rise of urbanization, these two men integrated these easily-manipulated people into their factories to augment their profits.

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