NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Did the Robber Barons and the Gilded Age of the 1890 s and early 20 th Century have a negative impact on 21 st Century Corporate America today? Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, and Vanderbilt all had something in common, they were all Robber Barons, whose actions would eventually lead to the corruption, greed, and economic problems of Corporate America today. During the late 19 th century, these men did all they could to monopolize the railroad, petroleum, banking, and steel industries, profiting massively and gaining a lot personally, but not doing a whole lot for the common wealth. Many of the schemes and techniques that are used today to rob people of what is rightfully theirs, such as pensions, stocks, and even their jobs, were invented and used often by these four men.
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 industry by eliminating competition and using questionable means of obtaining their place on the hierarchy of corporations in the business world.
J. P. Morgan was one of the more selfish of the barons. He once said, I owe nothing to the public, and often practiced fraud and distortion. His methods of monopolizing the banking industry were so obvious, that they were in fact called, M organization. He once sold 5, 000 defective rifles to General Fremont, and was never even filed suit against.
Morgan still has an impact today since many companies produce faulty products or perform inadequate services that can sometimes even result in injury or even death, and are often written off as human error or bundles of cash pushed towards the victims to keep them quiet. Rockefeller, who capitalized on the oil industry, easily became one of the wealthiest men in America when he discovered the value of oil and made sure that he was the primary supplier of said, black gold. Through many of the same tactics Morgan, Carnegie, and Vanderbilt had used, he made sure that any one who tried to compete against his company was quickly eliminated from competition and taken off the map as a supplier for petroleum. A picture in a history book shows a group of people watching an old Rockefeller crouch over to accept a flower from a little girl.
The caption reads "John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist and philanthropist, is caught doing one of his good deeds. " Such lies were fed to the American people and they ate them up, not wanting to believe they had been tricked, deceived, and even controlled by these four men. Rockefeller got away with his scheme until the Supreme Court ordered in 1911 that the Standard Oil Company be broken up. These men are without a doubt that main cause for the corruption that can be seen today across the nation. If these men had never capitalized on their industries, the United States would have most likely been much more of a partnership of businesses.
Where instead of fighting for a particular industries, several companies help each other out, eliminating the need for importing of goods, loss of jobs due to lack of work, and destruction of families from the loss of money and values that come hand in hand with having a job.
Free research essays on topics related to: robber barons, rockefeller, corporate america, america today, four men
Research essay sample on Robber Barons Corporate America
