Robber Barons In The Gilded Age

After the Civil War, America gave rise to a new era of industrialism, the Gilded Age. An era dominated by powerful figureheads of industry, otherwise known as robber barons, America soon became an international economic power. Many believe that America’s international economic power is due to the doctrine of laissez-faire capitalism, where businesses operated without any interference from the government. However, there are multiple instances where the American government had directly supported the rise of industrialism. Thus, the Gilded Age’s success cannot only be attributed to laissez-faire because of the government intervention through the use of corruption practices, foreign policy, rail roads and the government’s response, government

One example was Robert Cumming Schenck. Appointed as U.S. minster to Great Britain in 1870 by Ulysses S. Grant, Schenck arrived in London on June 23rd, 1871. While he was there, Schenck exploited his investment in the Emma Silver mine in Nevada, “selling near worthless stock to unsuspecting British investors at the same time he was supposed to be carrying out his official duties” (Grossman). By using said methods, Schenck was able to gain over €10,000 worth in stock investments, which in the present would be worth over €850,000 or around $1,300,500. Schenck, though accused of fraud, was able to be cleared of charges and returned home in May 1876, money in hand. Because government officials exploited their positions for financial gain, the economy was inadvertently affected, thus showing there were points where there were governmental influences on the

Because of an economic stumble, Andrew Carnegie, a prominent businessman who was the head of the steel industry, had his company adversely affected. The price of steel-rolled products declined from $35 to $22 in early 1892. Henry H. Frick, a manager of the Homestead steel plant, which was largely owned by Carnegie, worked to combat the economic hiccup by cutting wages and attempting to end the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, one of the largest labor unions in the country. Once the union’s contract expired, Carnegie encouraged Frick’s efforts and instructed Frick to close the plant and wait for the workers to concede. Carnegie believed that the workers would end their union in order to hold on to their jobs. However, Carnegie’s prediction was far off point, and Frick was met with a 3,000 person strike against the plant. Frick’s efforts to utilize a private army, the Pinkerton Detective Agency, failed when the workers were able to successfully fight them off. As such, government intervention soon came; the governor sending the state militia to deal with the