They profited immensely, “and so it went, in industry after industry—shrewd, efficient businessmen building empires, choking out competition, maintaining high prices, keeping wages low, using government subsidies. These industries were the first beneficiaries of the ‘welfare state’,” (Zinn 257). And so began the first leanings of America towards a capitalist government. I was not entirely surprised by the events laid out in this chapter. This is getting into the Industrial Revolution, a time where big business controlled the way millions lived and worked.
Hanna played a major role in the development of the big businesses in American politics which led to a solid platform of Republican success. He helped build the career of William McKinley, first by starting as a governor and then a presidential candidate. One way he did this was by employing 1400 Republican campaign workers to send out letters to voters. He was the starting point for the political victory of McKinley in the 1896 Elections due to his high political aspirations and ideas. One of the main reasons why the Republicans overshadowed the Democrats was due to the financial support of big businesses.
Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were two of the wealthiest men of all time. Many have asked the question of whether each of them was a captain of industry or a robber baron. In essence, the question means were they honest men who gained their wealth through hard work, or did they reach success on the backs of the poor working class. In my opinion, both Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were captains of industry due to their hard work, smart business, and dedication to efficiency. Andrew Carnegie began as a very hard working boy, entering the workforce at the young age of thirteen.
America has always been thought of as the land of opportunity, and as the country became more developed, many saw that this dream could become a reality. After the Civil War and towards the end of the 19th century, America became an industrial empire and was transformed into an economic giant. With the discovery of new raw materials and the enhancement of the technological era, many people took on the jobs of becoming businessmen. However, some of these businessmen became so interested in gaining as much money and power as possible, they became known as “robber barons”. In this essay I will be arguing that it is completely justified to call industrial leaders robber barons because of their ruthless business practices.
In order to justify characterizing the industrial leaders to any extent, one must first define the terms that the industrial leaders are to be categorized under. A “robber baron” is an active person in investing in trade and economy who made their fortune by ruthless or immoral means. An “industrial statesman” is a leader in an industry who is highly respected, skilled, and experienced and employed people under reasonable conditions and practiced ethical business practices. It is mostly justified to characterize specific industrialists. One of the industrialists that can be characterized justifiably is Thomas Edison.
He emerged as the wealthiest private individual in early twentieth century, and earned the title of “Lumber King” . He was also known for his contribution towards the development of the great West. Mr. Booth and Mr. Weyerhaeuser became very successful industrialists with the common traits of entrepreneurs, including strong leadership, determination, and risk-taking, yet they had different attitudes towards nurturing high potential venture opportunities. Both industrialists displayed strong leadership qualities throughout their careers. They were truly self starters who built empires with their own meagre capital.
Final Exam Review John D. Rockefeller Born: 8 July 1839 Birthplace: Richford, New York Died: 23 May 1937 Best Known As: Standard Oil tycoon and big-time philanthropist One of the richest Americans in history, John D. Rockefeller was the founder of the Standard Oil Company and, later, a philanthropist whose wealth bankrolled the Rockefeller Foundation. Hard-working and meticulous, Rockefeller started out small and then made his fortune via hard-nosed and sometimes controversial business tactics, which have since made him an entrepreneurial hero to some, a greedy fiend in the eyes of others. He started in the oil business, and by the end of the century the Standard Oil Trust controlled so many other interests that it fell afoul of anti-trust
For example, Carnegie was an immigrant who after hard work established the “vertical integration” steel company. On the other hand, Rockefeller began with “horizontal” expansion buying out oil refineries. Men like Carnegie and Rockefeller contributed to the creation of an urban society since they donated much of their wealth for the construction of buildings like public libraries and creation of foundations to promote education. Finally, skyscrapers illustrated the advancements in technologies and the rise of big cities and corporate power. Industrialization had a greater impact in America because it was the motor that propelled urbanization.
John Stockert Mr. More U.S History period 5 28 February 2013 John D Rockefeller John D Rockefeller was known as many things; a billionaire, businessman, entrepreneur and perhaps even the richest man to ever live. The title in which he was most known for though was being a “Robber Baron” due to his exploitative practices to amass his seemingly infinite wealth. Was John D Rockefeller really the selfish, wealth obsessed, “Robber Baron” whose only goal was to crush his competition and rule the business age? Perhaps, but there is more about him than meets the eye. Rockefeller was not always a billionaire.
Al-Qaeda, the terrorist group that he founded in the early 1980’s, has been encouraging other minor terrorists to take action, making the world an over-all more dangerous place to live. Among his fellow terrorists, he is a revered hero, but all over the world, he is seen as a villain, a power-hungry monster greedy for power and attention. Because of bin Laden’s treacherous deeds, the United States has lost over 100 billion dollars in revenue, billions more by invading