Preview

Dbq 7, the Roll of Capitalists1875-1900

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
715 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Dbq 7, the Roll of Capitalists1875-1900
DBQ 7 It has come to my attention that during the late 1800’s there has been many industries that shaped the rules and regulations of our society today. There have been many names that these companies have been named but two of them really stand out to me. They are “Captains of Industry,” and “Robber Barons.” I firmly believe that these companies can be looked at as “Robber Barons” instead of “Captains of Industry” because these companies take advantage of their employees (including children), they leave the people powerless, and also, they eventually leave these poor citizens unemployed. Primarily, a significant number of companies can be classified as “robber Barons” because they take advantage of their workers which includes children. One devious side to these companies is that they hire these innocent citizens to work for them and give them false hope making them think they can make a good living in America. Also, they pay their employees just enough money to pay for food for their family and that is it. Sometimes these families do not even get to eat because their family cannot afford it. To add on, the working conditions are very dangerous. Many people have lost limbs and some of these situations have even resulted in casualties. However, this is not the worst part. As stated in Document B, the most imprudent decision that these large companies have made was to hire children. Back then, it was not illegal for children to work, and many thought that it was a good thing that children are in work and making money to help their family and not on the streets causing commotion. Soon, people started realizing that this was not a good thing for children to work because not only did it cause many more casualties and injuries, but these children would work during the day and were not attending school to receive and education. Secondly, a large amount of companies leave their employees powerless. For example, in Document A, it says that as the rich get richer,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    I've never viewed either of these men as bad men or as robber baron, i've always admires the men of the 19th and 20th century who saw these new industries developing and adapted to make a mostly honest profit. These men were friends of consumers because the put pressure on their competitors to provide better goods and services and reasonable prices. They embraces competition, made good products and sold them for low prices. When companies compete the consumer usually…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Morgan,Rockefeller and Carnegie were robber barons They were considered cruel and ruthless. Carnegie made his employees work long hours and gave them little pay he even tried to stop unions in his company. Employees pointed out that Rockefeller could have paid his workers a fairer wage and settled for being a half billionaire. Morgan criticized for creating monopolies by making it difficult for any business to compete against his.…

    • 70 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Industrial capitalists of the late 19th century were “Captains of Industry” for many reasons. There were a couple modes on the matter. The first was that the wealth of the parents would go to the first son, so that to insure that the family name be carried on. Some thought that this was bad because it depends on the children to take care of everything, and that in the end it hurts the state that they don’t get any and that it all goes to the first child.…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    To what extent is it justified to characterize the industrial leaders of the 1865–1900 era as either “robber barons” or “industrial statesmen”?…

    • 1558 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the late nineteenth century, the United States of America saw companies flourish. Advances in technology greatly increased output and lowered costs of many goods; people were also making more money and the nation was truly prospering. Due to the booming economy, a great deal of changes occurred. Companies started to grow at a faster rate, and soon there were enormous companies that seemed to rule their individual industries. It quickly became apparent that some firms were monopolizing the industries, making prices higher and lessening the competitiveness of the market. Many companies were also fixing prices, forcing other businesses to pay ridiculous amounts since they had no other options.…

    • 1747 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Robber Barons was the negative term for the titans of industry or, as Professor Donald Miller calls them, the capitalist conquistadors. These were the guys like Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Gustavus Swift, Philip Armour, John D. Rockefeller and others who rose to the top and ran monopolies or near-monopolies in the Gilded Age (1870s-1900ish). They were seen as bad because they employed ruthless methods to run competion out of the market, but on the other hand, weren't breaking any laws or rules in this laissez faire timeperiod. These guys also gave a lot of money away: Carnegie built tons of libraries, and Carnegie Mellon University got a lot from him,…

    • 273 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the Gilded Age, the leaders of industry worked towards self-interest, and thus were called "robber barons." In this time period, the focus of these barons was to earn as much money as possible. Many Americans were disgusted with this plan. The less-than-fortunate ridiculed the greedy business leaders and demanded fairness (doc. B). Several workers even hoped to attain equality, and worked toward this goal through strikes, such as the Pullman Strike of 1894. However, for the lucky ones sitting at the top of the social ladder, mass money-making was the foremost goal. This was achieved through two different methods: vertical integration and horizontal integration. The latter was used by John D. Rockefeller, the king of oil. Horizontal integration is the process of buying the smaller companies that might compete with one company. For example, Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company smaller oil and gas companies (doc. C). Vertical integration is the process of controlling all aspects in a business. The Gilded Age brought corporate greed at its fullest, especially during the 1880s and 1890s. Industries, especially the Standard Oil Company, were looked down upon, but nothing could stop the power of those titanic business empires (doc. D). Thus was the life of a robber baron; stomp out the competition, take as much money as possible, and disregard the poor.…

    • 533 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The late 19th century industrial leaders have often been called "industrial statesmen" for the great economic power they brought to America. However, they have also been called "robber barons” since they built this great wealth by abusing the system, their employees, and destroying their competitors. These kings of industry displayed characteristics of both industrial statesmen and robber barons. But which would better describe them? They had their faults, but overall these leaders should be respected for all they have done.…

    • 929 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Assignment: In a well developed essay of 3-5 typed pages (Times New Roman 12 font, double-spaced),…

    • 4962 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Long hours, dangerous work conditions, and low wages are just a few words to describe the treatment of workers at the turn of the 20th century. This was all in the hands of some powerful industrialist we refer to as "robber barons". There can be no mistaking their motives: wealth. It portrays men like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Pullman, Ford and cruel and ruthless businessmen who would stop at nothing to achieve great wealth.They cared little about the lives and treatment of those that worked under them, and reside in their towns. They were in many cases accused of disregard of workers' rights, exploitation of resources, and concentration of wealth. In my perpective, it is true.…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In comparison between robber barons and captains of industry, most of these people are considered captains of industry. This is because most of the given people all affected the country and the business world positively for reasons that are stated as well as others. Although a couple people are obviously Robber Barons, for example Cornelius Vanderbilt, most of the rest are obviously captains of industry, donating money, making money and becoming a key reason for how the business industry became as fair as it is now. All of these people have in some way either contributed to the increase of productivity, providing more jobs, or expanding the market in a very crucial way.…

    • 684 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Robber Barrons

    • 1451 Words
    • 6 Pages

    To what extent was it justified to characterize the industrial leaders of the late 19th century as either “robber barons” or “captains of industry”?…

    • 1451 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Robber Barons

    • 1237 Words
    • 5 Pages

    American industry was on the rise during the Gilded Age. Many different historians have believed that these Americans were either Captains of Industry or portrayed as a Robber Baron. In this time period, a Robber Baron was an industrialist who took advantage of one’s wealth and used it to gain power. A Captain of Industry was seen as a hero to the Americans with a “rag to riches” story. During the Gilded Age, a Robber Baron was more common because industry would not have rose so high without corrupt and evil businessmen.…

    • 1237 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    History Notes

    • 1709 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Captains of Industry- was a business leader whose means of amassing a personal fortune contributes positively to the country in some way. This may have been through increased productivity, expansion of markets, providing more jobs, or acts of philanthropy. This characterization contrasts with that of the robber baron, a business leader using political means to achieve his ends.…

    • 1709 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In his article “Someone is stealing your life”, Michael Ventura asserts that most American people are completely dissatisfied with their jobs. The crucial reason for that feeling is related to the fact that the management and the owners of the companies do not give enough power to the workers. They decide all the issues and obtain all the profits and benefits. Consequently, the author argues that the employees should have more opportunities to make decisions, more power, more vacation time, and more benefits (including bonus and higher wages). As a result, Ventura concludes that the owners of the companies are practically robbing his life. Three relevant points that I would like to debate are: the strong generalization presented by the author, the real effectiveness of this kind of article, and the possible change of attitude if the article was written in the present day.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays