The Rise Of Robber Barons Or Captains Of Industry

When it comes to the terms “Robber Barons” or “Captains of Industry” an automatic focus brings and individual to three key historical figures including Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie. Whether or not an individual agrees with the given terms jointly or feels stronger about one way or the other, there is plenty of information to support either side or both sides simultaneously. I feel that as time has gone on from the 19th century to present day the roles have changed from “Robber Barons” to “Captains of Industry” with the continued progression of everyday living. The “Robber Barons” began with Vanderbilt, an aggressive, rude, competitive steamboat owner/operator turned railroad owner. He was known in the steamboat

He bought out many railways to connecting routes with whom he had conflicts with which increased his range of transportation. He also incorporated lower rates with better service. With the advancement of connecting railways farmers were mad because they had to compete with a larger range of other farmers and deal with increasing transport prices. Next there is Rockefeller who used Vanderbilt’s tactics to dominate the oil industry. He bought out rival refineries and created the first American monopoly called Standard Oil Company, which he was the over seer. His company controlled almost every aspect of the business necessities including transporting their own goods. They also bought out thousands of acres of land preventing competitors from running their own pipelines. Rockefeller also worked with Vanderbilt to acquire lower railway shipping cost and undercutting competitors increasing his product availability. Third on our list is Carnegie, who was a dominant force in the steel industry. He created the Carnegie Steel Company and owned all the raw materials they needed, including ships and railroads for transporting, and coal fields for fuel the furnaces. Mills gave rise to wage workers instead of people owning farms and their own shops as previously

Vanderbilt created the integrated railroad network making standard time, equipment and a standard gauge for all railways. The standard time he incorporated was adopted as the modern standard time system which fixed scheduling problems and gave us our four present day time zones. Carnegie’s growth of Steel Mills employed thousands of workers, and his steel was also used in the construction of the first skyscraper, and the Washington Monument. Rockefeller lead way to future advancements in petroleum uses such as gasoline engines. These three men made way to rapid more adequate transportation, and the availability of steel and oil accessible to more at a cheaper cost. Vanderbilt didn’t give much money away to charities but he did donate $1 million to build Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tn. Rockefeller donated over half a billion dollars to various educational, religious, and scientific causes including The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research which is now Rockefeller University. Carnegie gave away about $350 million to various charities including the $1.1 million needed to for the costs of Carnegie Hall. As “Captains of Industry” they contributed vastly to the growth and advancement of American economy even if the way they went about it was