Robber Barons vs. Captains of Industry

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Robber Barons vs. Captains of Industry

• -Pros and Cons of Industrialists
• -Treatment of workers
• -Antitrust Movement

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Opposing View Points - copy

• Captains of Industry
• Created Jobs
• Increased production
• Provided cheap products and new technology
• Gave money back to the community (philanthropy)
• Assisted to the growth of the American economy
  and influence in world
• Rags to Riches stories inspired and modeled the
  American Dream

• Robber Barons
• Exploited workers while amassing fortunes
• Corrupted the government and large buyers by
  offering discounts
• Greedy, monopolies gouged consumers
• Destroyed hopes for the American Dream for many

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Justifications for Industrialists Extreme Wealth
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• Gospel of Wealth
• Andrew Carnegie
• God gave wealth to the most capable people
• It is the duty of the wealthy to give money to
  help the poor
• Carnegie gave millions of dollars away to
  establish libraries, colleges, and museums

• Laissez faire capitalism govt should leave
  business alone
• Social Darwinism
• Herbert Spencer
• Based on Charles Darwins theory of evolution
• Those who are rich are more fit, than those who
  are poor
• Attempted to use science to explain social
  classes
• Horatio Alger- wrote popular fictional books in
  which the protagonist poor boys became wealthy
  through their honesty and hard work.
• ? Puritan Work Ethic.

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John Rockefeller and Standard Oil Trust

• To monopolize the oil industry he forms the
  Standard Oil Trust
• A trust is an organization of businesses designed
  to operate like a monopoly
• His corporation Standard Oil owned about 88 of
  the oil industry in the US in 1890

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John Rockefeller and Standard Oil

• Made deals with the railroads to charge
  competitors more
• Lowers prices to force other companies out of
  business-then raised prices
• Low pay for workers
• Sabotaged competitors
• Paid government officials in the Senate

• Recognized the potential of the oil industry
• Very hard worker
• Spent all profits from the company to improve
  production
• Philanthropy- gave over 500 million to charities

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Other Famous Trusts

• Andrew Carnegie- US Steel
• J. P. Morgan- Banking, Railroads, and Insurance
  Companies
• Friedrich Weyerhaeuser- Lumber

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Working Conditions - copy

• Laborers were immigrants, blacks, women, and
  children
• 10-12 hour days, six days a week
• Accidents were frequent, deaths occurred
• Low wages

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Anti-Trust Movement - copy

• The public began to dislike trusts
• Prices were high on important products
• Trusts were responsible for a corrupt government
• Although Congressmen liked trusts they needed to
  please the public
• Passed the Sherman Antitrust Act
• Made it illegal to form a trust or monopoly
• Act was not effective because the act did not
  clearly define a trust

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Exit Pass

• -Evaluate if Industrialists should be viewed as
  captains of industry or as robber barons.
• -Use details from your notes and your reading to
  support your answer.