The Role of Capitalists DBQ
Stark 1
Jeremy Stark
Mr. Mangan
AP US History
8 December 2014
The Role of Capitalists
More often than not, America’ s antebellum capitalists were accused of being the
“
robber barons
” of industrial America. The common conception is that these men took advantage of a naïve and growing economy to reap its benefits without giving anything in return. While it was true that the majority of America was poor in comparison to the few elites, the philanthropists efforts and contributions to our country and its people through the use of their wealth to improve this nation can not be denied. They were able to created thousands of job opportunities and build industries that benefited the entire nation. If not for these men and their efforts, there would have been no one to pave the road for America’s industrial domination. They were truly the “captains of industry”.
While these successful capitalists of the late 1800s might be known to some as
“captains of industry”, there were more commonly referred to as “ robber barons
”. This was because of the common belief that they were responsible for the farmers grievances (doc. D). The weapon of these “ robber barons
” was the trusts that they created to gear economical power and domination toward these men (doc. E). While it is true that these men did utilize trusts and methods such as horizontal and vertical integration, they were able to turn a major profit for use in improving the nation. If these men had not created such methods to harness the industry, there would have been no other alternative for
America as a whole to grow. The South had already proved that dependence on a one-crop economy was a failing gamble. They had shown that all other innovations were
Stark 2 too primitive now, and the nation needed these men
’s wealth and power to grow as a country. The capitalists of this period had created many job opportunities during the time as well. Thousands if not millions of Americans found work thanks to
Jeremy Stark
Mr. Mangan
AP US History
8 December 2014
The Role of Capitalists
More often than not, America’ s antebellum capitalists were accused of being the
“
robber barons
” of industrial America. The common conception is that these men took advantage of a naïve and growing economy to reap its benefits without giving anything in return. While it was true that the majority of America was poor in comparison to the few elites, the philanthropists efforts and contributions to our country and its people through the use of their wealth to improve this nation can not be denied. They were able to created thousands of job opportunities and build industries that benefited the entire nation. If not for these men and their efforts, there would have been no one to pave the road for America’s industrial domination. They were truly the “captains of industry”.
While these successful capitalists of the late 1800s might be known to some as
“captains of industry”, there were more commonly referred to as “ robber barons
”. This was because of the common belief that they were responsible for the farmers grievances (doc. D). The weapon of these “ robber barons
” was the trusts that they created to gear economical power and domination toward these men (doc. E). While it is true that these men did utilize trusts and methods such as horizontal and vertical integration, they were able to turn a major profit for use in improving the nation. If these men had not created such methods to harness the industry, there would have been no other alternative for
America as a whole to grow. The South had already proved that dependence on a one-crop economy was a failing gamble. They had shown that all other innovations were
Stark 2 too primitive now, and the nation needed these men
’s wealth and power to grow as a country. The capitalists of this period had created many job opportunities during the time as well. Thousands if not millions of Americans found work thanks to