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Robber Barons Research Paper

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When it comes to the phrase “sharing is caring”, not too many business leaders followed it. Ironically, there were a few stingy industrialists who happened to have a generous heart. John D. Rockefeller, J.P.Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie are a few examples of individuals known for “money-hogging” in the 19th century. Although a couple of these robber barons started off as people who did not give back to their community, they managed to become captains of industry in the end. What are robber barons and captains of industry? A robber baron is an industrialist who does not give back to the community. They would have done anything to get more money, even if it meant that others would be negatively affected. Their smart and crooked practices consisted …show more content…

J.P. Morgan was one of the most wealthiest financiers of his time. He was born into the banking business which led him to open his own banking company in 1871 (J.P.Morgan & Co).This powerful banker took lacking businesses into his own hands, bringing on the term Morganization. It is a word that is used to describe the process of business leaders making money from failing businesses. J.P.Morgan had gained so much wealth, that he was asked to lend the U.S. government after the great depression of 1895.
During the prime of his success, he brought on a lot of attention. Most of the industries in the U.S. were under his belt. By this time, he was the supreme of two major businesses--the railroad and steel industry. The steel industry in particular was the main monopoly he took on. The U.S. government finally stopped Morgan in 1911. Fortunately, this wasn’t the last people heard of Morgan. Morgan actually donated money to different organizations at the ending of his career. One of his most famous donations was when he funded Harvard …show more content…

He spent the last part of his life giving away millions of dollars. He donated funds to build more than 3,000 public libraries and he funded the Tuskegee and Carnegie Institutes. In his book, The Gospel of Wealth, he described the importance of charitable giving for the public good. These actions instantly changed Andrew Carnegie from a robber baron to a captain of industry.
In the present day, there are captains of industry who donate to plenty of charities. Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. She has given away millions of dollars to her top three charities--The Angel Network, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation, and The Oprah Winfrey Operating Foundation. Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, is an American business magnate, philanthropist, investor, and computer programmer. According to CNBC, Bill Gates was the top giver last year with a donation of $1.5 billion to a

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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.

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J. P. Morgan was a powerful and influential banker of his time. He was a big time financier for many companies and was involved in many industries. Morgan did business with the railroads, holding shares and handling financing. By involving himself in the railroad he enlarged his bank’s wealth and his own personal power. Morgan had invested in the Edison Electric Illuminating Company which gave electricity to some individuals in New York City.

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These men reaped high profits at their workers expense. The robber barons were able to get rid of their competition by selling products at a much cheaper price than their competitors. This of course was possible due to the abuse towards their workers, and the monopoly they were then able to create. Once there was no competitors,

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Excellent post Joao. J.P Morgan was certainly one of the greatest bankers and finaciers to ever live. He helped reorganize financially troubled railroads, formed a syndicate to save the gold standard for the U.S government, and he used his influence to help save several trust companies, rescue the stock exchange, and bail out the City of New York during the 1907 financial panic. He did all of this while setting up the ground work for one of the greatest banking firms to ever exist.

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He donated millions of dollars to charities, schools, and libraries. Because of this fact, I believe that the good Morgan did outweighs the bad and he can be considered a Captain of Industry and not a Robber Baron. Katelyn Chrisawn Mr. Burnette American History Honors 17 April 2024 J.P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan was born to Junius Spencer Morgan and Juliet Pierpont. He had two siblings, four children, multiple grandchildren, and two different wives (Wikipedia). Morgan was born into a wealthy family on April 17, 1837 in Hartford, Connecticut.

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The captains of industry believed that the poor people were inferior to the rich people. The rich were superior because they had “wisdom, experience, and the ability to administer”. The duty of a rich person was to help out a poor person which was what was said in the Gospel of Wealth. The Gospel of Wealth is about how the rich person's responsibility is philanthropy. Carnegie believes in charity work so he would donate to libraries, and universities and schools and etc.

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The decisions that he made were usually impose reactions. He thought about them but not quite hard enough. Although with his decision making he was able to control most of the oil refineries in Cleveland. His business grew to influence other businesses. This led to monopoly.

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The man had the biggest yacht of his time and one of the biggest personal art collections of the time. A kind and powerful person- one who saved the lives of many in america just by being a wise investor and a powerful leader. J.P.Morgan saved the economy several times and was one of if not the most important person during the Gilded Age stabilizing the economy in

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John D. Rockefeller in my opinion is a robber baron; The term robber baron was used in the 19th century to describe a group of industrialist who were creating enormous personal fortunes. Many people believed he used unethical business practices to amass his extraordinary wealth. John had a drive to become one one of the richest people in America. During Rockefeller's time the average person was making around 8 to 10 dollars per week, but Rockefeller was worth millions. Rockefeller did use some tactics that were questionable.

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Andrew Carnegie whom claimed his own business called the Carnegie Steel Comapany. This was an organization that had extraordinary income, however he was ready to pitch it to Morgan for not as much as what he would have sold to another person. He realized that Morgan could do extraordinary things with it particularly after the effect he had with his dad's business. Carnegie settled his consent to offer the organization and that permitted J.P. to do his homwork on other iron organizations which was gainful and worked together the organizations together and made the U.S. Steel Organization. The U. S. Steel Organization was doing great for Morgan, despite the fact that it didn't achieve the highest point of the pyramid for the piece of the overall industry, he approved of that since he had enabled such a great amount in different organizations, for example, protection and correspondence organizations.

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Carnegie donated money to establish ($350 million worth) libraries, schools, universities, and pension funds for his employees. James J. Hill provided seed, grain, and cattle to farmers during the Great Depression. (Hook Exercise). These entrepreneurs promoted inventions that enhanced the way we live in the developing technological era. When people were in need, these captains of industry were there to save the day, sharing their money like it was no big deal; only it really was to the ones who needed

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Morgan, was one of the most famous and renowned bankers in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. By financing some of the most important companies at the time such as railroads and creating the U.S. Steel. Following in his father’s footsteps, Morgan opened his own private banking company in 1871, later to be known as J.P. Morgan & Co. This company became one of the leading financial companies in the United States to the point that the United States Government even turned to them when in moment of crisis during the depression of 1895.

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Towards the end of his life, unlike Carnegie & Rockefeller, he did not live in glamorous mansions. Even though he did was not exactly known for his philanthropic contributions, he did give one million dollars to build and endow the Vanderbilt University in Nashville,

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J.D. Rockefeller was another very wealthy Gilded Age businessman. He

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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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