“If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.” These inspiring words highlight the principles that many of the late 1800s industrialists lived by. These industrialists of the late 1800s, known as the “Robber Barons” or “Captains of Industry”, were very influential in America, from their own industry to even the Capitol. One the most influential of them all was John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller dominated oil industry, which was a budding industry in the 1860s. He founded Standard Oil, which quickly monopolized the entire petroleum industry. Although vilified by many during his time, Rockefeller, along with other “Captains of Industry”, revolutionized the United States, from business to even philanthropy.
Rockefeller was born in New York in 1839. In 1853, he and his family moved to Cleveland where he would attend high school, but more importantly do business. He developed a love of arithmetic and regularly attended his local Baptist Church. After taking some business courses in college, Hewitt and Tuttle hired Rockefeller as a bookkeeper. Shortly after, Rockefeller formed a partnership with another young businessman, Maurice Clark, and together joined the oil industry as refiners. The partnership grew in size and eventually Rockefeller bought out Clark’s portion for $72,000. He then brought his brother, who had also built a refinery, into the partnership. This made their firm the largest oil refinery in the world and marked the beginnings of Standard Oil.
In June 1870, Rockefeller established Standard Oil Company. It was situated in Cleveland, which had become one of the five main refining centers in the U.S. It began to grow rapidly and soon became t...
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...kefeller as unethical and a “Robber Baron”, he was a devout Baptist and was one of first great philanthropists. To begin, every paycheck he received he gave ten percent of it to his church. Along with helping his own personal church, Rockefeller gave much of his wealth to universities and hospitals. He donated money to the University of Chicago, which dramatically improved the school, making it a top-notch college. Along with this, he founded the Central Philippine University and Rockefeller University and research centers such as the Rockefeller Foundation.
From bookkeeper to billionaire, Rockefeller’s vision influenced many. He revolutionized industry and philanthropy as it is today and became the world’ first billionaire. Although vilified for most of his life, he truly redeemed himself in the end by creating many beneficial institutions with his fortune.
Andrew Carnegie, a robber barron that took advantage of his poor employees and his relentless competition, his personal intentions and innovations in the steel industry and philanthropic distributions positively changed America's society and views of education. Early 19th century, the American industrialist of the time, we're gathering good fortunes through Carnegie's ideas and initiatives. This man started out onto the road to wealth and success, starting from rags to the riches and earned the reputation he brought among himself, bringing him into American history. For those who exploited others on the road to wealth were automatically labeled as “robber-barrons" i.e. John D. Rockefeller, Ph.D. Nevertheless, those whose personal success positively impacted the United States, earning the title of the" captains of industry" surprisingly Andrew Carnegie happened to do both.
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,
It's said that before John D. Rockefeller died, "he gave away about $550,000,000 to charity, more than any other American before him had ever possessed" (98). His money went to schools, churches and also "paid teams of scientists who found cures for yellow fever, meningitis, and hookworm"(97).
Rockefeller was the co-founder of the stand Oil Company. His wealth grew and became the world’s richest man. By the early 1880s, he dominated the oil business with his Standard Oil Company, in which he accounted thirty percent of. In the overall U.S. refineries and pipelines, his company accounted for around ninety percent. John D. Rockefeller was also a major philanthropist.
The Gilded Age refers to a period in which things were fraudulent and deceitful; the surface was clinquant while underneath that lustrous coat laid corruption. During the Gilded Age companies recruited to corrupt methods to further increase profits, leading to an increase in power, rapid economic prosperity, and domination of industries, leading to monopolistic corporations. As a result, antitrust laws to regulate business began to emerge in the late 19th and early 20th century known as the Progressive Era. Among these companies was Standard Oil, which was founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller; in 1880, Standard Oil was responsible for refining 90 percent of America’s oil and between 1880-1910, dominating the oil industry (Marshall). The lack of intervention from the government and regulations impeding monopolistic practices allowed Standard Oil to
A "robber baron" was someone who employed any means necessary to enrich themselves at the expense of their competitors. Did John D. Rockefeller fall into that category or was he one of the "captains of industry", whose shrewd and innovative leadership brought order out of industrial chaos and generated great fortunes that enriched the public welfare through the workings of various philanthropic agencies that these leaders established? In the early 1860s Rockefeller was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, who came to epitomize both the success and excess of corporate capitalism. His company was based in northwestern Pennsylvania.
These industrialists are the pillars of the American society due to the successful outcomes of their hard works. Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were both born in an underprivileged families. Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller became the breadwinner of the family at a young age. They both worked hard despite of being born to a
The industrial leaders, Robber Barons, of the 19th century are men who are very respected and admired. Andrew Carnegie was a boy from Scotland who came over to this country with nothing. He continued to save and work his way up in the industry until he had complete control over the steel industry. John D. Rockefeller was also one who came from an ordinary home. When he saw an opportunity, he took it, along with the risks. He came to control the oil industry. Another man that took many opportunities to expand and grow was Cornelius Vanderbilt. These men saw what they needed to do to become successful and they did it. These men's' lives reflected the Darwinian ideology of the times, "survival of the fittest".
Leaders such as Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, and Ford were all philanthropic and gave away their money to those in need. For instance, Andrew Carnegie had given a total of over $350 million in his lifetime and had centered his philanthropy on education and the quest for world peace. Carnegie built libraries mainly because he wanted to promote self-education and that he wanted everyone to have the access to books. He founded Carnegie University. He had always thought that “The rich have a moral obligation to give away their fortunes.” John D. Rockefeller donated over $550 million in his lifetime. Rockefeller built the University of Chicago and then founded Rockefeller University. The Rockefeller Foundation was his last charitable foundation and he had such an abundant amount of money that the foundation is still working “to promote the well-being of mankind throughout the world.” J.P. Morgan was an equally giving philanthropist after he retired from banking. He had become the president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art while he was also a trustee (lead donor, vice president, treasurer, and finance committee chairman). His love for the natural sciences gave way to the American Museum of Natural History. Morgan was also a part of the Episcopal Church which he had devoted a great deal of time to. Henry Ford
To describe John D. Rockefeller in one word would be an extremely difficult, if not impossible thing to do. Rockefeller was known by so many things in his time and still today; a captain of industry who revolutionised the American economy with new business practices and keen management of what he controlled, a robber baron who lied and cheated his way to the top with back room dealings and taking advantage of the most disadvantaged of people. In his early life, Rockefeller grew up in Richmond, New York with his two brothers and two sisters about 20 years before the start of the Civil War as the child of Eliza Davison and William Avery Rockefeller. His father was con artist who spent most of John’s life traveling selling his various elixirs and his mother was a devout Baptist who John said shaped his life and most of his religious views for the rest of his life. Towards the end of his life, Rockefeller had built up a beyond substantial fortune but, seeing as how he was now retired from the oil industry and had no desire to invest into a new business, he decided to follow Andrew Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth by donating the bulk of his wealth to charity. John D. Rockefeller was truly a man who was almost undefinable despite the simple black and white labels that most people and historians have pinned upon him, as we examine his life it can be determined that Rockefeller was neither an evil man nor a good one but someone who lived his life in the grey.
This statement is true, but the money that sustained the philanthropic ways of the Industrialists was obtained in a way exemplify the qualities of a Robber Baron. A list of Rockefeller's major donations added up to about $500,000,000. While this money went charities and hospitals, the money was made from unethical business practices and the undermining of employees. The Saturday Globe’s political cartoon of Carnegie shows him cutting wages and giving away libraries and money. Industrialists took money that went from their workers away to practice philanthropy. The money might have gone to great causes, but the way it was obtained is characteristic of Robber Barons. Andrew Carnegie's essay, “The Gospel of Wealth” he describes the role of the wealthy in the community. Carnegie class the millionaire a “trust for the poor” and states that the wealthy know how to best invest n the community. This role taken on by Carnegie and other wealthy Americans of the late 19th century is reminiscent of that of an oligarchy, where a small group has control of the community. The oligarchical position of the wealthy in Carnegie's essay is against the American values of freedom and individuality, and very discriminatory towards the
John D. Rockefeller was born on July 8, 1839 in Rickford, New York. He grew up in a very poor family. His father was William Avery Rockefeller. He claimed to be a doctor, who for $25 would cure various diseases. His mother was Eliza Davison Rockefeller. She was the role model who taught Rockefeller his values and morals (Poole). John Rockefeller was the second child. Altogether he had five brothers and sisters (Outman 139). As a child he was very business smart. At the young age of 12 he loaned $50 to a famer. He charged a 7% interest. When he was older he said this about the business deal, “The impression was gaining ground with me that it was a good thing to let money be my servant and not make myself a slave to money” (Poole).
He is a robber baron in the truest sense of the word. However most of the powerful industrialists had financial goals for themselves as well as
The Standard Oil Company (and the trust associated with it) was an economic game changer for America and tarnished the ideals of purist capitalism. It demonstrated a very clear flaw and was met with reform and punishment. This company developed by John D. Rockefeller, used many tactics and strategies to systematically eliminate the competition in the new emerging economy of oil. Following this capitalism on a national level was seen as a system of “haves” and “have nots”. Furthermore, it exposed the selfishness and greed of the upper class. This all caused America to completely reinvent it’s economic policy to avoid private corperations from controlling the country and it’s great people.
John Rockefeller was born in Richford, New York, on July 8, 1839. Rockefeller was industrious as a little boy, and sold turkeys and candy and did jobs for neighbors to earn money. In 1853, John and his family moved to Strongsville in Cleveland, Ohio, for John to attend high school and college. When he was 16 years old, he worked at an office firm in Cleveland that bought and sold commodities. In 1859, the first oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania. In 1864, Rockefeller married Laura Spelman whose father was a merchant and an active in the Underground Railroad. They eventually had one son and and four daughters, three of whom survived.