Big Businesses during the Industrial Revolution

Big Businesses during the Industrial Revolution

During the Gilded Age, America experienced a period of rapid economic growth. However, it is worth noting that a few individuals who owned massive corporations, including Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and John D. Rockefeller, monopolized most of the money and economic success. There are two sides to the story behind the success of these individuals, one praising them as the “captains of industry” while the other refers to them as “Robber Barons.”

Looking at the positive impacts of their success, John D. Rockefeller owned Standard Oil, a company responsible for 90% of oil production in America. The positive effect was that the company”y co”ld reduced the “amount of pollution. Initially, to maximize profits, oil companies would dump their waste just anywhere and use shoddy pipelines, which tended to leak. However, Standard Oil Company reduced this pollution by using waste products to make Vaseline, another useful product (Nature, n.d.). Secondly, J.P. Morgan heavily invested in Thomas Edison’s electricity technology, eventually resulting in electricity, one of the most critical innovations in the world (Klein, 2010). Andrew Carnegie and the other individuals named above had massive companies, which created many job opportunities, boosted the country’s economy, and improved the country’s social status. In addition, these businessmen are known for their philanthropy, whereby they donated their fortunes towards charitable causes, which improved society in various ways (Kevane & Sundstrom, 2014).

On the other hand, these businessmen were also accused of questionable business practices. They were often called Robber Barons. This pejorative word meant they monopolized the economy by exploiting employees and poor working conditions, eliminating competition, and conducting illegal business activities to maximize profits (Hamla & Filali, 2017). All these had severe consequences like the death of employees, for example, the Homestead Massacre. Further, they corrupted the political system by ensuring that William McKinley, a business-friendly individual, was elected president in 1896; this way, there would not be regulations against their business practices (Giroux, 2005). Weighing the benefits against the losses, the losses outweigh the benefits mainly because lives were lost while others were oppressed, all in the name of industrialization.

References

Giroux, H. (2005). Cultural studies in dark times: Public pedagogy and the challenge of neoliberalism. Fast capitalism, 1(2).

Hamla, M. E. H., & Filali, B. (2017). The Robber barons between praise and condemnation.

Humphreys, J. H., Hayek, M. J., Novicevic, M. M., Haden, S., & Pickens, J. (2019). The narrative cleansing of Andrew Carnegie: entrepreneurial generativity as identity capital. Journal of Management History.

Kevane, M., & Sundstrom, W. A. (2014). The development of public libraries in the United States, 1870–1930: A quantitative assessment. Information & Culture, 49(2), 117-144.

Klein, M. (2010). The power makers: steam, electricity, and the men who invented modern America. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

Nature, R. (n.d.). Refining Nature: Standard Oil and the Limits of Efficiency.

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Big Businesses during the Industrial Revolution

The rapid industrialization of the U.S. economy in the late 19th century has been accredited to prominent business people like Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and John D. Rockefeller. While their business practices led to the growth of business and personal fortune, they came at the expense of the laborer, who worked long hours for little pay. Debate the success of these individuals by discussing the positive and negative social, economic, and political impacts of their business practices. Does one side outweigh the other? Would you consider each “Captains of Industry” or “Robber Barons?” You may analyze each person individually or group them. Make sure to provide examples for each to support your answer. Ensure you keep your opinions with examples/facts and cite all sources used to develop your answer.