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Rise Of Big Business And Robber Barons In The 19th Century

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The rise of Big Business and robber barons in the 19th century made social reforms and the progressive movement necessary. In the years following the Civil War, there was a rise in business in the U.S. According to US History, over 600,000 patents and inventions were made during this period, and several monopolies were formed. (pg512) Three of the largest were; Standard Oil, John D. Rockefeller, Carnegie Steel, Andrew Carnegie, and the New York Central Railroad System which was owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt. These corporations operated under the rights promised individuals in our Constitution. Millions of American's were suffering as a result, and reform became necessary. These reforms changed our Constitution and the way business operated in the US. John D. Rockefeller grew up in New …show more content…

His father was a farmer, who also worked part time transporting goods across the bay from Staten Island to Manhattan. This is where Cornelius got his start. (Beck) He had a reputation for being a ruthless business man and in Wolff's "First Tycoon" he states "Vanderbilt, whose career gave rise to the term robber baron." By the time he was a teenager he had his own delivery route, and soon owned a fleet of boats. He then went on to steamships where he got the nickname, Commodore. In the 1860's he began his career in the railroads. (Wolff) According to David Beck in "Rise of a Tycoon" "Vanderbilt was the apostle of free competition, burying but also befriending his business enemies....his free-market practices led inevitably to what today we would call price fixing, insider trading, and restraint of trade." The many books are written about Cornelius Vanderbilt all share the same theme. He was a shrewd, persuasive businessman. Many of the laws pertaining to business were written to protect the American public from robber barons like Vanderbilt. At the time of his death, Vanderbilt was worth over 100 million

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Justin Clement APUS DBQ Big businesses controlled the economy and politics throughout 1870-1900. They were in control of the prices for certain items because they destroyed their smaller competitors until there was no competition left. They had much sway over politics and took away the people’s say. As we can see from Document A, between 1870-1899, the price for food, fuel, lighting and living decreased with the emergence of big businesses.

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but I still believe that he was not a Robber Baron. He did use his wealth and experience to buy out companies to eliminate any kind of competition. He was a monopolizing the railroad industry, but he did so in a much less brute way compared to some other people during his time period. Cornelius Vanderbilt was born on May 27th 1794 as a poor boy, in his early years Vanderbilt had nothing he had no money

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Vanderbilt worked with his father on a ferry ship from a young age (Biography). When Cornelius Vanderbilt was 11, he quit school and continued to work on the ferry with his father (Biography). When Vanderbilt

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For example, John D. Rockefeller made millions off of the Standard Oil Company. His company easily grew and did well because of his timing and the circumstances that the economy was in. Another example of a robber baron is J. P. Morgan. He was a banker but he was very unfair to the people that he worked with. Some of the things that these two have in common are they were both very powerful in society

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Thesis : After the Civil War, America was in a post-war boom. During the 1870-1890, big business moguls, such as Rockefeller and Carnegie, create huge corporations which not only affected the economy, but also affected the political realm of America. While many may assume that during the rise of these big business helped to change the economy and politics,  the real focus was on the responses formed by society, such as labor unions, increase public outcry, and political opposition groups that helped to change society. A: Economically, big business flourished during the late 1800s.

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He used his boat to ferry passengers and goods between Staten Island and Manhattan… Selling his ferry business, Vanderbilt went to work for Thomas Gibbons in 1817, running a steam ship line between New York and New Jersey. Over 12 years, Vanderbilt became an expert in the operation and design of steam ships. He 1829, he resigned to launch his own business… He sold his interest in steamers and turned to Wall Street, the financial heart of the nation in New York. In a short period of time, he quietly bought up a number of railroads to form the New York Central and Hudson River line, one of the largest businesses America had ever seen.

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To say the time period following the Civil War in the United States involved a lot of change would be a understatement. Between the years 1870 and 1900 the people of the United States lived through a period of great change. Not only did they witness technological advances that would change their daily lives, they also saw new laws and organizations formed. All of this was done in hopes of improving the country. Many of these changes came about because of the type of businesses that were formed.

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Before the progressive era, business was left unregulated and free to oppress works and consumers with poor product quality, safety, and low wages and long hours for employees. One reform that contributed to reversing this awful trend came by gradual antitrust and business regulation. The Sherman Anti-Trust act was first passed in 1890, but President Roosevelt became the first President to enforce the law, breaking up so many trusts that he gained the nickname, “Teddy, The trustbuster”. Along with enforcing the business regulations already on the books, many other laws were passed such as the Clayton Antitrust Act which furthered the progress already many. By busting up monopolies and trusts, which has sucked the economy dry leaving much of American Wealth in the hands of a limited number of the nation’s most successful, money flowed back in to the economy and small businesses could once again develop and flourish.

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During the period of 1870 to 1900 large corporations, such as the railway company, grew significantly in size, number, and influence. The cause of this was the need for a new way of transportation, the demand was great so the railways expanded all over the United States so that they could meet these demands. These large corporations affected the economy by making it easier to pay for everyday chores, politics in the way that it gave politicians too much power but in doing so gave normal limited power. The corporations had great power and influence which made them a huge impact to society.

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He was a member of the nine member syndicate which built the yacht Reliance for the successful defense of the America's Cup in 1903.[2] He was commodore of the New York Yacht Club from 1906 to 1909. In 1910, he piloted his 65 foot sloop Aurora to victory in the New York Yacht Club's race for the King Edward VII Cup in Newport,

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Throughout the Progressive Era, there were many thoughts and ideas on ways that the federal government could change how the system worked. Almost everyone agreed change was necessary within the government to further regulate business growth, ensure political and economic rights, and the way that the federal government should address social problems. That said, during this time the country was also divided regarding how to implement such changes. Looking back, all Americans can be placed in one of two groups, known as either conservatives and radicals, but during this time period there were big controversial differences between two specific groups; the conservatives and the radicals. This was a time period of major advancement in technology

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In 1900, New York became the second largest city in the world. This was the result of monopolies capitalizing in America. Industries were booming; however, the common people were suffering greatly. The men behind these monopolies, incorrectly known by many as captains of industry, are more accurately known as robber barons. While this remains true, the business men of the Gilded Age were captains of industry to an extent.

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Some might say that he is not a captain of industry, but there are always two sides to every story. His life is very interesting, as he was a true rags-to-riches story. His parents were farmers, and his father occasionally ferried produce and merchandise between Staten Island and Manhattan. And it was due to this that he gained interest in boats. Eventually, he managed to acquire a fleet of small boats, and through this he was able to acquire his first fortune.

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History should remember the entrepreneurs of the 1800’s and 1900’s as Captains of Industries or Robber Barons. These entrepreneurs

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235 Words | 1 Pages

Robber Barons and Captains of Industry Some might believe that the businessmen of the Gilded age are robber barons because of how some of them treated their workers and spent their money. The businessmen of the Gilded Age were captains of industry because of the impact that they made on the country. Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, and Vanderbilt all have done things that can identify them as captains of industry. These businessmen gave their time and effort to help the economy grow.

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