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Industrialization in the 19th century
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Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller; Captains of industry, or robber barons?
True, Andrew Carnegie and John D Rockefeller may have been the most influential businessmen of the 19th century, but was the way they conducted business proper? To fully answer this question, we must look at the following: First understand how Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller changed the market of their industries. Second, look at the similarities and differences in how both men achieved domination. Third and lastly, Look at how both men treated their workers and customers in order achieve the most possible profit for their company.
Let us first look at Mr. Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie was a mogul in the steel industry. Carnegie developed a system known as the vertical integration. This method basically cut out the ‘middle man’. Carnegie bought his own iron and coal mines (which were necessities in producing steel) because purchasing these materials from independent companies cost too much and was insufficient for Carnegie’s empire. This hurt his competitors because they still had to pay for raw materials at much higher prices. Unlike Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller integrated his oil business from top to bottom. Rockefeller’s system was considered a ‘horizontal’ integration. This meant that he followed one product through all phases of the production process, i.e. Rockefeller had control over the oil from the moment it was drilled to the moment it was sold to the consu...
Andrew Carnegie, the monopolist of the steel industry, was one of the worst of the Robber Barons. Like the others, he was full of contradictions and tried to bring peace to the world, but only caused conflicts and took away the jobs of many factory workers. Carnegie Steel, his company, was a main supplier of steel to the railroad industry. Working together, Carnegie and Vanderbilt had created an industrial machine so powerful, that nothing stood in its path. This is much similar to how Microsoft has monopolized the computer software
Rockefeller was America’s first billionaire, and he was the true epitome of capitalism. Rockefeller was your typical rags-to-riches businessman, and at the turn of the twentieth century, while everyone else in the working class was earning ten dollars max every week, Rockefeller was earning millions. There has been much discussion as to whether Rockefeller’s success was due to being a “robber baron”, or as a “captain of industry”. By definition, a robber baron was an industrialist who exploited others in order to achieve personal wealth, however, Rockefeller’s effect on the economy and the lives of American citizens has been one of much impact, and deserves recognition. He introduced un-seen techniques that greatly modified the oil industry. During the mid-nineteenth century, there was a high demand for kerosene. In the refining process from transforming crude oil to kerosene, many wastes were produced. While others deemed the waste useless, Rockefeller turned it into income by selling them. He turned those wastes into objects that would be useful elsewhere, and in return, he amassed a large amount of wealth. He sold so much “waste” that railroad companies were desperate to be a part of his company. However, Rockefeller demanded rebates, or discounted rates, from the railroad companies, when they asked to be involved with his business. By doing so, Rockefeller was able to lower the price of oil to his customers, and pay low wages to his workers. Using these methods,
Matthew Josephson agreed that Rockefeller was indeed a "robber baron". In the book Taking Sides, he claims that Rockefeller was a deceptive and conspiratorial businessman, whose fortune was built by secret agreements and wrung concessions from America's leading railroad companies (Taking Sides 25). When John D. Rockefeller merged with the railroad companies, he had gained control of a strategic transportation route that no other companies would be able to use. Rockefeller would then be able to force the hand on the railroads and was granted a rebate on his shipments of oil. This was a kind of secret agreement between the two industries.
During the nineteenth and twentieth century monopolizing corporations reigned over territories, natural resources, and material goods. They dominated banks, railroads, factories, mills, steel, and politics. With companies and industrial giants like Andrew Carnegies’ Steel Company, John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company and J.P. Morgan in which he reigned over banks and financing. Carnegie and Rockefeller both used vertical integration meaning they owned everything from the natural resources (mines/oil rigs), transportation of those goods (railroads), making of those goods (factories/mills), and the selling of those goods (stores). This ultimately led to monopolizing of corporations. Although provided vast amount of jobs and goods, also provided ba...
Many people consider Rockefeller a robber of industry because of his forcible ways of gaining his monopolies. Rockefeller was fond of buying out small and large competitors. If the competitors refused to sell they often found Rockefeller cutting the prices of his Standard Oil or in the worst cases, their factories mysteriously blowing up. Rockefeller was obsessed with controlling the oil market and used many of undesirable tactics to flush his competitors out of the market. Rockefeller was also a master of the rebate game. He was one of the most dominant controllers of the railroads. He was so good at the rebate that at some times he skillfully commanded the rail road to pay rebates to his standard oil company on the traffic of other competitors. He was able to do this because his oil traffic was so high that he could make or break a section of a railroad a railroad company by simply not running...
Carnegie was a brutal challenger and tried to eliminate his competitors. Another tactic Carnegie used to grow his business was to hold a vertical monopoly. The Carnegie Steel Company bought the iron ore deposits and even many of the steel finishing industries. With the magnificent industry...
John D. Rockefeller and other members of his family produced the fuel that powered America and Europe. In fact, 85% of the world's kerosene supply was produced in a company of Rockefeller's in Pennsylvania. J.P. Morgan, a giant in finance was equally successful by capitalizing small businesses and taking private corporations public. His genius for investing and financing was known world-wide. Because of Morgan and investors like him the American economy grew at a rate that the world had not seen before. His "Gentlemen's Agreement" brought stability to a railroad industry that was unstable because of it's incredible growth. The agreement regulated rates, settled disputes and imposed fines for companies that did not abide by the terms of their contracts. J.P. Morgan helped create a centralized banking system and paved the way for what was to become The Federal Reserve. Henry Ford a corporate giant in transportation built the Ford Motor Company and
As you can see, the business world we know today would not have been possible without some of the many advances that took place in the Gilded Age, and although newer laws and standards in the business prevent big business tycoons from becoming as powerful as they once were in the Gilded Age, we still see signs today of what business leaders such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J. P. Morgan all contributed to the business world.
He went to London in 1872, saw the new Bessemer method of producing steel, and returned to the United States to build a million-dollar steel plant. Foreign competition was kept out by a high tariff conveniently set by Congress, and by 1880 Carnegie was producing 10,000 tons of steel a month, making $1 1/2 million a year in profit. By 1900 he was making $40 million a year, and that year, at a dinner party, he agreed to sell his steel company to J. P. Morgan. He scribbled the price on a note: $492,000,000.”
Industrial development of the late 18th century (around 1865-1900) is often characterized by it’s affluent, aggressive and monopolistic industrial leaders of the likes of men such as Andrew Carnegie, William H. Vanderbilt, and John D. Rockefeller. Due to their ruthless strategies, utilization of trusts, and exploitation of cheap labor in order to garner nearly unbreakable monopolies and massive sums of wealth, these men are often labelled as “robber barons”. At the same time, they are also often referred to as “industrial statements” for their organization, and catalyst of, industrial development; not to forget their generous contributions to the betterment of American society. Therefore, whether or not their aforementioned advances in industry were undertaken for their own personal benefits, one cannot ignore their positive effects on America. Thus, one can conclude that not only were the captains of industry both “robber barons” and “industrial statements”, but that that these two labels, in fact, go hand-in-hand.
People like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan are men who possessed the intellect, the foresight, and most importantly the work ethic to become powerful industrialists. These men displayed their work ethic to the country by being ruthless and tireless. They started something so important that a hundred years later it is still making a huge contribution to our country (Maury Klein pg. 32). What they started was the industrial revolution. Today our country is the most powerful in the world because of our great wealth. This wealth comes from the strength of our industry. “If thou does not sow, thou does not reap”(Hofstadter Recon.-Present Day pg.79). Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Morgan are the epitome of this statement.
John D. Rockefeller, born on July 8, 1839, has had a huge impact on the course of American history, his reputation spanning from being a ruthless businessperson to a thoughtful philanthropist (Tarbell 41). He came from a family with not much and lived the American dream, rising to success through his own wit and cunning, riding on the backs of none. His legacy is huge, amassing the greatest private wealth of any American in history. Rockefeller’s influence on our country has been both a positive and a negative one, he donated huge sums of money to various public institutions and revolutionized the petroleum industry. Along with all the positives to the country, Rockefeller also had many negative affects as well, including, by gaining his riches by means of a monopoly, often using illegal methods, by giving others a reason to frown upon capitalism, and by hurting smaller businesses.
steel pipe tubing, Carnegie threatened to ruin him by invading his business if Morgan did not buy Carnegie out. E...
Andrew Carnegie, the “King of Steel”, the benevolent employer, the giant of industry, was among the greatest influences of the second industrial revolution. It is sometimes questioned whether Carnegie was the ruthless, sneaky steel tyrant some made him out to be, or the generous, benevolent education benefactor he appeared to be. I believe him to be a combination of both, but more so the great giant of industry.
On the workers' side the weak points were “With me as the secret owner, I could “persuade” the business managers to keep their prices low, giving me the a tremendous business advantage.” This shows that Rockefeller would take advantage of people. “I was intensely competitive, and used intimidation to put my competitors out of business.” The strongest viewpoint was “I’m also very sorry about the coal miners who were shot by the company guards. I owned the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, but my managers there are the ones who made a mess of that situation. I wouldn’t have let the situation get that dangerous.” He partly took the fault for the incident he didn’t expect that to happen. The industrialists weakest point is “Mr. Carnegie, well I know he uses that money now to do good, giving it away and all, but back in the day he knew what conditions were like in those steel mills, he let it continue.” One of the conditions in the steel mills was “Coal dust hanging in the lungs caused the lifelong disease "black lung." So basically Carnegie knew this was going on but didn’t care.