Captain of Industry or Robber Baron?

653 Words3 Pages
CI or RB Essay Jacob Hine 5th Hr. U.S. History Kids were being overworked, and underpaid, taken advantage of, and being put in danger. Also, wealthy industrialists controlled communities and the poor in unethical ways. There are two types of business men, Robber Barons, and Captains of Industry. Captains of Industry are business leaders whose means of amassing a personal fortune contributes positively to the country in some way (Page 4 P.3). Robber Barons are business men who used questionable or unethical business practices to become powerful or wealthy (Page 4 P.4). Business men during the Gilded Age were Robber Barons because people like J.P. Morgan and U.S. Steel using unethical practices/ways, and the abundance of child labor, and how John D. Rockefeller used questionable ways/practices to become the man he was. J.P. Morgan used unethical practices to become the Robber Baron that he was. “In 1901 J.P. Morgan’s U.S. Steel was the first billion-dollar company in the world with an authorized capitalization of $1.2 billion. The size and productivity of U.S. Steel allowed the U.S. to compete globally against countries such as Britain and Germany.” (Page 4 #2). This is an example of how J.P. Morgan used unethical practices to do the things mentioned in the quote like competing globally against other countries. Competing globally against other countries is a (Robber Baron) practice that is considered unethical or questionable. Kids in the Gilded Age were overworked, underpaid and treated poorly, which is only because of Robber Barons. Did you know that over 5 percent of the national labor force was made up of child labor? (Page 3 P.5). Well, it’s true; these kids were treated very poorly in an un-safe working environment. Also, their pay rate was questionably/unethically low, a method only used by the cruelest of Robber Barons. This piece of evidence (child
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