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Robber Baron Vs. Industrial Statesman By John D. Rockefeller

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In “Robber Baron vs Industrial Statesman” John D. Rockefeller is portrayed as a Robber Baron due to his manipulative business techniques. Rockefeller started his involvement in the oil industry in 1863 by building his first refinery in Cleveland. Soon it became the largest in the area and due to it’s success Rockefeller turned his full attention to the project.With success came acquisitions, as Standard began buying out its competitors.One business he effected was the one of George Rice. He convinced the railroad company to charge Rice twenty five cents a barrel, whereas Standard Oil was only charged ten cents. Eventually causing George to close his business due to the lack of profits. In addition to this Rockefeller forced the railroad to
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The question of whether John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie were "captains of industry" or "robber barons" is a complex one. Both John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie played significant roles in the growth and development of American industry during the late 19th and early 26th centuries. On one hand, they are often referred to as "captains of industry" because of their entrepreneurial spirit and their ability to innovate and transform entire industries.

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A “robber baron” is defined as one who uses immoral methods to get rich. John D. Rockefeller, king of oil and the owner of the Standard Oil Company, was known for these unscrupulous tactics. Rockefeller’s peculiar ideas of the “law of nature” in accordance with his “primitive savagery” allowed this stealthy businessman to manipulate his way to the top. Although Rockefeller’s oil monopoly attributed to the wealth of the American economy, he destroyed the morality of modest men to accomplish ultimate power and prestige making him one of the wealthiest industrialists during his time.

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By keeping his prices low, Rockefeller strategically lured in customers. “Rockefeller demanded rebates, or discounted rates, from the railroads. He used all these methods to reduce the price of oil to his consumers.” (Source 1 “the New Tycoons- John D. Rockefeller”) Rockefeller did whatever it took to make

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These robber barons created ways like increasing prices on objects, paying low wages, and creating a monopoly to increase their wealth and their benefits. In the antebellum period, John D. Rockefeller’s family owned a store-like building, which helped Rockefeller understand the concept of running a business-like facility. During the Civil War he was able to create a small oil factory by 1700, and developed his oil factory to control all oil in the United States by the 1800s, as stated through Mr. Wallace’s lectures. The oil that he was able to control was the Carlson oil, which was considered oil of the working poor class, used to light homes and cook.

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He did this by buying smaller refiners or drove them out of business across the United States. By the early 1880’s, the Standard Oil company had control in about ninety percent of the oil refineries located in the United States. To eliminate business Rockefeller was accused of using unethical practices. Including, undercutting oil prices of other companies known as predatory pricing. He was also accused of colluding with railroads to eliminate his competitors ability to distribute product.

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Rockefeller was so ruthless and wealthy he was called The Leviathan. Rockefeller got wealthy through monopolies ( trust) a monopoly was when a corporation buys out its competition so they can have full price control so they could charge however much they wanted for that product which means they eliminated the free market

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He made his mark on America. John D. Rockefeller practically lit up the country with his company, Standard Oil. In eighteen-seventy Rockefeller started his company with a group of men, although he was the president considering he was the largest shareholder. His company founded the chemical that was the was very flammable, called Kerosene, that was put into lanterns or streets to help light your home and make the street more visible. Standard Oil began to buy out other companies and began to sell and distribute their products all over the globe, which made them a monopoly.

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Rockefeller's Standard Oil was formed during a time of need. America was industrializing fast, railroads were expanding, and need for oil was at an

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Although the majority of capitalists considered captains of industry have given back to the greater good in some way or another through philanthropic acts such as the increase in productivity, expansion of markets, and/or provision of more jobs, in turn he/she can also be recognized as robber barons due to his/her utilization of unjustifiable and greed-driven tactics to gain an edge over, and eventually eradicate, his/her competition. The characterization of the majority of industrialists as robber barons is not justifiable due to the fact that a number of these leaders were also very philanthropic and can be described as both a captain of industry and/or a robber baron. John D. Rockefeller, an American business magnate and philanthropist, was the co-founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry in the late nineteenth century. Rockefeller utilized unjustifiable tactics such as rebates, drawbacks, and horizontal integration to grow his business and overwhelm his competitors and could thus easily lower commercial prices because of the unfair advantage that he had gained.

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While there are many robber barons that have existed throughout time, one of the most famously remembered robber baron, during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, was John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller was easily one of the most influential industrialist in his time. Aside from building Standard Oil into America’s largest company, he formed what was arguably the first modern multi-national company. He was innovative with how Standard Oil was structured, leading the U.S. governments changing their corporation codes and passing anti-trust legislation. His company was purposefully named, to assure customers that the oil being purchased was professionally processed to a standard.

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