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Rockefeller as a robber baron
John pierpont morgan john d rockefeller
John pierpont morgan john d rockefeller
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John Davison Rockefeller was born on July 8th, 1839 in Richford, New York. He was the second born of six children in the family. His father, William Avery Rockefeller, was an entrepreneur of his own. He claimed to have the ability to cure patients with cancer and charged up to $25 per treatment. His mother was a very religious and well-organized woman. Growing up Rockefeller started his entrepreneurship career early by selling candy and doing jobs for his neighbors. Little did anyone know this young man would go on to be arguably the richest man ever.
In 1851 his family moved to Owego, where he attended Owego Academy. In 1853, they moved again to Cleveland, Ohio. Even without his father around, Rockefeller remained very determined and well organized. When he was just 16, Rockefeller began work as an office clerk for a firm specializing in grain and coal. Just four years later, as a 20 year old, Rockefeller wasn’t happy with his wages and established his own commission firm. In 1863, Rockefeller and his partners invested in a Cleveland oil refinery. This was the beginning of a dominant oil career for the young Rockefeller.
In 1864, Rockefeller married a woman by the name of Laura Spelman. She was born and raised in Ohio. Her father was an abolitionist and especially active in the Underground Railroad. Together they had four daughters and one son.
In 1865, the early stages of the Standard Oil Company began to unfold. Rockefeller bought out some of the partners he had previously partnered with so he could control the oil refinery. By this time their oil refinery had grown to be one of the biggest in the Cleveland area. In 1870, Rockefeller officially formed the Standard Oil Company with a few partners. However,...
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...ller set the standard for future billionaires in terms of giving back to their communities. At the same time, Rockefeller was such a business mogul that the United States had to take action to stop such actions from happening again. Rockefeller forever changed the business world and whether it was for better or worse, we will never know.
Works Cited
Chernow, Ron. "Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr." H-Net Reviews. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
Parsons, Edward. "John Davison Rockefeller, Sr (1839 - 1937) - Find A Grave Memorial." John Davison Rockefeller, Sr. Find A Grave, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
Poole, Keith. "John D. Rockefeller, Senior." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
"John D. Rockefeller." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
"John D. and Standard Oil." A-Z Links. Bowling Green State University, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
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,
Rockefeller even wrote in a letter to a partner, "we must remember we are refining oil for the poor man and he must have it cheap and good" (83).
It is a magazine article in McClure’s Magazine, and an excerpt from the book, The History of the Standard Oil Company.
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
Fifth Edition Vol 2, New York: Longman, 1999. Hidey, Ralph W. and Muriel E. "History of Standard Oil Company (New Jersey), Vol. 1" Pioneering in Big Business" " Taking Sides Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History" eds.
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
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 dominance.
...600 -$700 annually. In the same fashion as Carnegie, Rockefeller gave most of his money to profit other. It has been said that he gave a third of his fortune to charities, organizations, and universities; another third was for him, and the final third he left to his descendants.
As America’s first billionaire, few individuals in history can compare with John D. Rockefeller Sr. His wealth around the turn of the 20th century would be worth roughly twenty-two billion dollars in modern United States dollars. It is undeniable that Rockefeller changed the landscape of the American petroleum industry by defining the nature of oil production. By 1883, Rockefeller was laying the foundations for what we now know as the vertically integrated company and the modern multinational. The fruit of Rockefeller’s labor, the Standard Oil companies, controlled ninety five percent of petroleum refining and transport by 1880.
One of the Gilded Age’s most prominent well-known philanthropist’s, John D. Rockefeller, had a lasting effect in the United States. He was America’s first ever billionaire. Rockefeller entered the oil business by first investing on an oil refinery in Cleveland, Ohio in 1863. He established his own oil company named “Standard Oil”, which controlled nearly 90 percent of America’s oil refineries by the 1880’s. At first, Rockefeller borrowed money from some of his buddy’s to buy out some stocks and take control of his first refinery in Ohio. He then formed the “Standard Oil Company” along with his brother William Rockefeller and other groups of men, John D. Rockefeller was the largest shareholder of the company. Standard oil was a monopoly in the oil industry for buying other refineries who were competition to Standard oil in order to distribute and market there oil around the globe. Standard oil even went as far as making their own oil barrels and employed scientists to develop other uses for kerosene and petroleum products. John D. Rockefeller was viewed as a target of “muckraking” by journalists, who viewed him as a monopoly giant setting up a monopolistic company in America which helped build his vast oil empire. Critics accused Rockefeller of engaging unethical practices such as competitive pricing when it came to products and negotiating with railroads to eliminate his competitors. The United States Supreme Court wou...
...mpanies, it eventually came to the point where they couldn’t keep up and eventually became a part of Standard Oil. By the time Rockefeller had reached the age of 40, his company had controlled all national oil refining by 90% and about 70% of international export of said oil.
Rockefeller was an industrialist and philanthropist who made his fortune by founding the Standard Oil Company in 1870. Attempting to monopolize the industry and squeeze out the middle man, Rockefeller slowly gained almost complete control of the oil industry. He formed the powerful Standard Oil Trust in 1882, which united all of his companies and secured 95% of oil production in the United States for himself. Rockefeller was an industrialist who stamped out all of his competition with his trust, eventually leading to Congress intervention.
Oil has always been a coveted natural resource. Oil was discovered in the United States in 1859; since it was a young industry, it was without any structure. That is where John Davison Rockefeller stepped in. John Rockefeller was at one point one of the richest men in the world, monopolizing the oil industry which played a major role in shaping the economy.
Rockefeller was the son of a trader, and began in the oil company when he was 20. He knew this was the area to invest in, because coal was being replaced by oil in the power industries. By 1870, he had his first oil business, called the Standard Oil Company. Like Carnegie, Rockefeller used horizontal integration and within two years, he had also created a monopoly. He made more money because he paid his workers extremely low wages and treated them poorly. Unlike Carnegie who offered his workers benefits and stock options, Rockefeller gave his workers poor conditions and even abused them at times. Even though Rockefeller was a philanthropist and gave a lot of his money away, that does not make up for how he treated other people and put people out of business to become wealthy. He is best known for a robber baron because he simply used his power to destroy other businesses. He did whatever he could to control the oil industry, even if that meant stepping on others on the way to his success. He reduced the costs of his company, and he was then able to drive other companies out of business, which is how he became one of the richest men in history.
Numerous families living in small town America lost their income because of Standard Oil and forced hardship upon many. The legacy of John D. Rockefeller shall always live on as he has permanently shaped how this country looks. He has funded huge advancements in the fields of education and medicine along with starting the events to end lassiez-faire economics. The petroleum industry changed greatly during his career thanks to his research and completely new business methods were thought up of by him, some still in practice today.