Robber Barons Research Paper

In this chapter, Howard Zinn focuses on the robber barons and rebels of the 19th century. Robber Barons were businessmen who often earned their wealth in dishonest and greedy ways. Favorable laws were made by the government towards the robber barons. The government helped the rich and didn’t care much for the lower class. Great fortune was made on the transcontinental railroad and the oil industry. Both of these companies treated their workers poorly and paid them low wages. Corporations became very powerful by creating monopolies “A system in which one corporation controls all or most of an industry”(173 Zinn). Politicians came up with the idea of communism and socialism, economic systems that would benefit the poor. The Sherman Anti-Trust

A "robber baron" was someone who employed any means necessary to enrich themselves at the expense of their competitors. Did John D. Rockefeller fall into that category or was he one of the "captains of industry", whose shrewd and innovative leadership brought order out of industrial chaos and generated great fortunes that enriched the public welfare through the workings of various philanthropic agencies that these leaders established? In the early 1860s Rockefeller was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, who came to epitomize both the success and excess of corporate capitalism. His company was based in northwestern Pennsylvania.

*It was justified to the full extent to characterized the industrial leaders of the late nineteenth century as "robber barons". People high up in business such as Andrew Carnegie and Rockefeller were proven to be robber barons by most working class and middle class Americans. They earned their wealth through questionable ways and through intimidation. They tried to ease their robber baron reputation by donating large amounts of money to various public buildings and causes. However, this attempt failed when many citizens realized that these donations gave society no long term benefits.

Mr. Folsom wrote The Myth of the Robber Baron because he believed sides of how America became a world power was left out due to some entrepreneurs who help paved the way for businesses today. With that belief, there is an abundance of knowledge to be learned starting from the first chapter of Vanderbilt versus Collins/Fulton paving the way for the future of business dealings. Knowledge to be gained was presented by Victor Niederhoffer where he states the reasons to read The Myth of the Robber Barons as “making the reader understand the sources of wealth and progress in society, hinting on how to run a business successful and showing the key to success in business was lowering costs, attention to detail, improved technology and sound financial structure” (Niederhoffer). Furthermore, today’s business-government relationship is ever important because the government has continue to dabble in the expansion of business industries by covering costs and imposing taxes without developing opportunities for businesses to create themselves and provide the goods and services that is needed to keep The United States as a world power. Now more than ever, good and services are being provided by countries not named The United States and government is allowing those standards to continue because its cheaper for businesses outside America to develop goods and services for Americans. Ultimately, The Myth of the Robber Barons is influential to today’s businesses because it reveals the implications of political involvement through government and not where it needs to be, which is in the hands of the

During the post Civil War period many capitalists took over and ramped up industry. There were also individuals who took industries and monopolized them. Many historians who look back at these capitalists who shaped the post Civil War industry argue about whether they should be viewed as captains of industry who developed large industry, or as robber barons who used industry and monopolies to achieve wealth and take advantage of the working class. This essay will show why they were captains of industry.

In the early 1900’s Industrialization boosted the economy, giving rise to capitalism and gave the upper hand to monopolized corporations. As stated by David Oshinsky, in Imbeciles’ and ‘Illiberal Reformers New

Accurately established by many historians, the capitalists who shaped post-Civil War industrial America were regarded as corrupt “robber barons”. In a society in which there was a severe imbalance in the dynamics of the economy, these selfish individuals viewed this as an opportunity to advance in their financial status. Thus, they acquired fortunes for themselves while purposely overseeing the struggles of the people around them. Presented in Document A, “as liveried carriage appear; so do barefooted children”, proved to be a true description of life during the 19th century. In hopes of rebuilding America, the capitalists’ hunger for wealth only widened the gap between the rich and poor.

This book has proven to be an enlightening read. It both teaches and inspires. Howard Zinn has offered us a perspective of the real story of American history heretofore unavailable to us – history from the perspective of real people – immigrant laborers, American women, the working poor, factory workers, African and Native Americans.

In spite of the fact that industrialization in the United States raised ways of life for some, it had a dull side. Corporate managers, in some cases alluded to as "burglar aristocrats," sought after exploitative and out of line business rehearses gone for taking out rivalry and expanding benefits. Assembly line laborers, large portions of them late migrants, were much of the time subjected to severe and hazardous working and living conditions. Political debasement enhanced legislators to the detriment of the lower and regular workers, who attempted to make a decent living. The crevice between "those who are well off" and "the poor" was augmenting.

Capitalism can be defined as “when monetary wealth was enabled to buy labor power” (Wolf et al. 77). By the time that “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” was written, Capitalism was the dominant mode of production, and capitalist markets were spreading rapidly. This became especially true in the United States of America, which was heavily influenced by the British in matters of economy. Since capitalism was born in England, the influence of capitalism bled over into America while they were still under British rule (Wolf et al. 2670). However, by 1820, the year that “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” was published, the United States fully adopted the capitalist mode of production, along with the technological advances of the Industrial Revolution. This embrace of the new economic system changed the ways of life for people in both New England and New York, along with the entirety of the country.

“Between 1880 and 1920, America the industrial and agricultural giant of the world, as well as the world's leading creditor nation(JFK 25).” This could not be achieved without the 23.5 million people who immigrated here. During this period, many immigrants played a role in developing the nation and the world such as Andrew Carnegie from Scotland in the steel business and Albert Einstein from Germany who advanced physics. Then the anonymous immigrant played their role as well. There are the Chinese who built the railroads, the Europeans and other eastern immigrants who developed the agricultural side of America. By advancing the country in multiple ways, we became strong and rich. Then, without

The history of America is one of complex change, often shifting in both foreign and domestic affairs, where American policy seen as fickle and unsatisfactory. The United States government actions and relations with the American South and broken Native Americans were often very stagnate in meeting their necessities and saw the rise of unchecked oppression on a wide scale. These once threatening adversaries would now know the hand of the Federal government relations as a result of Social Darwinism. The violent and brutal engagements in the former Confederate states which ensued, would be caused by neglectful and permissive President Andrew Johnson and by the devastation left over from the American Civil War. The defeated Native Americans would also become a largely exploited group with much of their land and territory to seek after for the ideal of American Expansionism as well as the precious resources which many desired to have a stake in. Many parties involved would endure failed expectations, while others would enjoy a degree of contentment. America’s industry would also see a dramatic level of development in technology, industry, and lifestyle while at a cost to several others. America’s industrialism was due to enterprising men like Rockefeller and Carnegie, who go about conquering their respective industry of choice and become very established in America’s politics and set the way of life for America’s workers. While many of these ventures could be perceived as

At the same time, as we learned in class, America’s population grew because of labor mobility. People began to migrate from rural to urban areas, and from Europe to North America, in search of better economic opportunities, and to improve their lives. The job market became more and more competitive Hubert Gutman’s “Work, Culture, and Society in Industrializing America 1815-1919” sheds light on the struggle of farmers and tradesmen who were forced into unskilled labor positions during the industrial revolution and the many new immigrants that were finding their way to America Gutman states, “A factory worker in New

The history of America is one of complex changes, often shifting in both foreign and domestic affairs, where American policy seen as fickle and unsatisfactory. The United States government’s actions and relations with the American South and broken Native Americans were often very stagnate in meeting their necessities and saw the rise of unchecked oppression on a wide scale. These once threatening adversaries would now know the hand of the Federal government’s relations as result of Social Darwinism. The violent and brutal engagements in the former Confederate states which ensued, would be caused by neglectful and permissive President Andrew Johnson and by the devastation left over from the American Civil War. The defeated Native Americans would also become a largely exploited group with much of their land and territory to seek after for the ideal of American Expansionism as well as the precious resources which many desired to have a stake in. Many parties involved would endure failed expectations, while others would enjoy a degree of contentment. America’s industry would also see a dramatic level of development in technology, industry, and lifestyle while at a cost to several others. America’s industrialism was due to enterprising men like Rockefeller and Carnegie, who go about conquering their respective industry of choice and become very established in America’s politics and set the way of life for America’s workers. While many of these ventures could be perceived as

During the nineteenth century the United States economy quickly shifted to an industrial goods based economy which was in many cases driven by entrepreneurial businessmen who created industrial empires and grew very wealthy. Capitalism has survived for hundreds of years due to natural resources that were inexhaustible. Today there aren’t enough resources. Capitalism must again evolve due to “more global competition, a declining economy, faster technological change, and pressure to preserve the natural environment” (Nickels, McHugh and McHugh 206).