John D. Rockefeller: Industrial Statesmen Or Robber Barons?

History remembers the big businessmen of the industrial revolution by many names: innovators, thieves, hard-working americans, money hounds. Each of these names falls into one of two categories which recognise these prominent historical figures as either industrial statesmen or robber barons. The leaders of the industrial revolution were known for both their outstanding philanthropy as well as their ruthless business tactics, however, they are often seen as cold millionaires indifferent to the suffering of their workers. Were these men truly as unscrupulous as history paints them?

Andrew Carnegie, who immigrated to America from Ireland in 1814, was one of the wealthiest men to have ever lived. He was a true rags to riches story, having created

Rockefeller, aside from being the richest person ever recorded, also happened to be one of the most controversial figures of history. He began his journey to wealth during the civil war by starting an oil refining company, the profits of which he saved, except for what he gave to the union. Eventually, he established the firm Rockefeller, Andrews, and Parker; which owned two oil refineries in Cleveland. This firm was the predecessor to Standard Oil, which would soon become his empire. Once Rockefeller opened Standard Oil and began to rise in the ranks of the competitive industry, the means by which his business grew became clear and were met with strong criticism. Among the most aggressive of these tactics were predatory pricing, vertical integration, and most rigorously, horizontal integration. Rockefeller added every one of his competitors to his mega-industry, some through secret deals. This resulted in his creation of one of the single greatest monopolies in history, the Standard Oil Trust. Eventually, the Supreme Court found Standard Oil guilty of illegal monopoly and had the company broken into 34 separate companies. Aside from business practices, Rockefeller engaged in questionable treatment of workers, the most striking of which was his reaction to the Ludlow Massacre. The United Mine Workers were on strike over union representation, and when a conflict between the strikers and the guard troops sent to watch them broke out and turned into a violent firefight, things quickly grew out of control. The striker's camp was burned to the ground, killing 15 women and children. When asked about it, Rockefeller said that if he had known the events would take place, he would have taken no action to stop or prevent it. He then minimized the seriousness of the incident and denied