SABADO,SINTA V.

BAPS 3B

THE DAY OF THE ROBBER BARONS

Objective:
Students will be able to recognize various historical figures from the Gilded Age, particularly the
Robber Barons, and will be capable of learning about their lives, accomplishments, and failures
as well as how their corruption had a significant effect on American society as a whole.

What is Robber Baron?

"Robber baron" is a term used frequently in the 19th century during America's Gilded Age to
describe successful industrialists whose business practices were often considered ruthless or
unethical.

History of Robber Barons

“Robber Baron” was term to a businessman in the 19th century who engaged in unethical and
monopolistic practices, utilized corrupt political influence, faced almost no business regulation,
and amassed enormous wealth.
The term itself was not coined in the 1800s, but actually dated back centuries. It was originally
applied to noblemen in the Middle Ages who functioned as feudal warlords and were literally
“robber barons.”
In the 1870s the term began to be used to describe business tycoons, and the usage persisted
throughout the rest of the 19th century. The late 1800s and the first decade of the 20th century
are sometimes referred to as an age of robber barons.

The Rise of Robber Barons

As the United States transformed into an industrial society with little regulation of business, it
was possible for small numbers of men to dominate crucial industries. Conditions which favored
vast accumulations of wealth included the extensive natural resources being discovered as the
country expanded, the enormous potential workforce of immigrants arriving in the country, and
the general acceleration of business in the years following the Civil War.
Railroad builders, in particular, needing political influence to build their railways, became adept
at influencing politicians through the use of lobbyists, or in some cases, outright bribery. In the
public mind, robber barons were often associated with political corruption.
The concept of laissez faire capitalism, which dictated no government regulation of business,
was promoted. Facing few impediments to creating monopolies, engaging in shady stock trading
practices, or exploiting workers, some individuals made enormous fortunes.
 The American industrial revolution and economic growth in the late 19th century
Robber baron, pejorative term for one of the powerful 19th-century American
industrialists and financiers who made fortunes by monopolizing huge industries through
the formation of trusts, engaging in unethical business practices, exploiting workers, and
paying little heed to their customers or competition. Alternatively, those who credit the
explosive growth of American capitalism during this period to the indefatigable pursuit of
success and material wealth are likely to celebrate these entrepreneurial tycoons as
“captains of industry.
Following the American Civil War. the country went through a great change in
technology and economy called the Industrial Revolution (also known as the Gilded
Age). During this time period, Laissez-Faire economics allowed some industrialists to
rise in power. Based on their "shady business practice, they were either known as "Titans
of Industry" or the "Robber Barons".
 Emergence of monopolies and consolidation of industries
Robber barons were 19th-century American industrialists who amassed great wealth by
creating monopolies over major industries, often through unethical means.
Robber barons took over industries such as railroads, banks, steel, cotton, oil, tobacco and
liquor. To monopolize these industries, they would use tactics such as creating trusts,
exploiting workers, and disregarding customers or competition.

Notable Robber Barons

There were many Robber Barons who lived during the Gilded Age, but we will be focusing on
four of them:
Cornelius Vanderbilt - owner of steamship lines and railroads.
Andrew Carnegie - steel manufacturer.
John D. Rockefeller - founder of Standard Oil.
J.P. Morgan - financier, and banker.
We will be looking into how these men built their lives, how their industries affected society and
how they made an impact on American history.
 Cornelius Vanderbilt
BIOGRAPHY
 Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt came from a poor family.
 He was born in Port Richmond, Staten Island, NY on May 27, 1794.
 In his early years, Vanderbilt started a passenger and freight service between New York
City and his hometown Staten Island.
 In 1813, Vanderbilt married his first cousin, Sophia Johnson (1795-1868), and had 13
children.
 Among his children was William Henry (Billy)
 Vanderbilt I (1821-1885) who also became an American businessman.
ROBBER BARON
 Vanderbilt first entered the ferry business which started from one boat and eventually
expanded it to 100 steamships.
 During this time, the ferry business was huge and popular.
 Years later, Vanderbilt saw more profit in the railroad business and began to buy out
various railroad companies.
 He gained control of the New York Central Railroad through buyouts and mergers.
 He became known as the "Commodore".
 Vanderbilt first entered the ferry business which started from one boat and eventually
expanded it to 100 steamships.
 During this time, the ferry business was huge and popular.
 Years later, Vanderbilt saw more profit in the railroad business and began to buy out
various railroad companies.
 He gained control of the New York Central Railroad through buyouts and mergers.
 He became known as the "Commodore".
DEATH AND LEGACY
 Vanderbilt first entered the ferry business which started from one boat and eventually
expanded it to 100 steamships.
 During this time, the ferry business was huge and popular.
 Years later, Vanderbilt saw more profit in the railroad business and began to buy out
various railroad companies.
 He gained control of the New York Central Railroad through buyouts and mergers.
 He became known as the "Commodore".
 Andrew Carnegie
BIOGRAPHY
 Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25, 1835.
 He and his family were from Scotland and they moved to America to begin a new life.
 They first landed in New York City and later ended up in Pittsburgh, PA.
 Married Louise Whitfield who was 20 years his junior. Together, they had one daughter,
Margaret.
 Started out as a telegrapher and began to invest in railroads, bridges, and oil derricks
during the 1860s.
 Became an industrialist with his steel empire starting from 1885.
ROBBER BARON
 Steel was the stronger and more expensive material, but Carnegie saw a cheaper and
faster way of producing it by adapting the Bessemer process.
 Carnegie began to invest in steel for railroads, bridges, and even steel buildings
(eventually known as skyscrapers) at a young age.
 As a Robber Baron, Carnegie took advantages of his laborers. The Industrial Revolution
with steel contributed to poor working conditions, poor wages, and long work hours
against the factory workers.
 The Homestead Workers Strike took place when his laborers refused to work, halting
productions and costing money. Carnegie hired the Pinkertons (mercenaries) soldiers to
deal with the problem. The result came when many of his workers were killed by the
ruthless Pinkertons.
 By 1900, Carnegie Steel Company produced more metal than all of England's metal
companies combined.
 In 1901, Carnegie sold his steel company to J.P. Morgan for $480 million (an estimate of
13.5 billion in today's money) which became the US Steel Corporation.
PHILANTHROPIST
 Carnegie spent his remaining years as a philanthropist and devoted his life to contributing
public interest and educational advancement.
 He believed in the "Gospel of Wealth".
 Gave away $250 million that eventually led to the creation of 2500 libraries and
universities including the Carnegie Institute for Science and the Carnegie Mellon
University.
 Carnegie died August 11, 1919 in Massachusetts, The cause of death was bronchial
pneumonia.
  He already gave away over $350,500,000 and his remaining $30,000,000 was given to
foundations and charities.

John D. Rockefeller
BIOGRAPHY
 Rockefeller was born in Richford, NY on July 8, 1839.
 His mother taught him to always save money and give some to charities. His father was a
doctor, as well as a traveling salesman who sold fake elixirs that cures cancer. Despite his
father's absences, Rockefeller turned into a well-behaved, religious, serious, reserved man
who excelled in math and businesses.
 The family eventually moved to Cleveland, Ohio.
 Rockefeller's first job was assistant bookkeeper before going into a business partnership
and built an oil refinery in 1863. Rockefeller married Laura Celestia Spelman in 1864
and had four daughters and one son.
 Rockefeller and his family practically became the richest people in the nation and were
the closest thing America had to a "royal family".
AS A BUSINESSMAN
 Rockefeller was born in Richford, NY on July 8, 1839.
 His mother taught him to always save money and give some to charities. His father was a
doctor, as well as a traveling salesman who sold fake elixirs that cures cancer. Despite his
father's absences, Rockefeller turned into a well-behaved, religious, serious, reserved man
who excelled in math and businesses.
 The family eventually moved to Cleveland, Ohio.
 Rockefeller's first job was assistant bookkeeper before going into a business partnership
and built an oil refinery in 1863. Rockefeller married Laura Celestia Spelman in 1864
and had four daughters and one son.
 Rockefeller and his family practically became the richest people in the nation and were
the closest thing America had to a "royal family".
CORRUPTION
 Rockefeller was born in Richford, NY on July 8, 1839.
 His mother taught him to always save money and give some to charities. His father was a
doctor, as well as a traveling salesman who sold fake elixirs that cures cancer. Despite his
father's absences, Rockefeller turned into a well-behaved, religious, serious, reserved man
who excelled in math and businesses.
  The family eventually moved to Cleveland, Ohio.
 Rockefeller's first job was assistant bookkeeper before going into a business partnership
and built an oil refinery in 1863. Rockefeller married Laura Celestia Spelman in 1864
and had four daughters and one son.
 Rockefeller and his family practically became the richest people in the nation and were
the closest thing America had to a "royal family".
END OF A MONOPOLY
 Thanks to the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890), monopolies were limited.
 In 1911, the Supreme Court found Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company in violation of
the Sherman Antitrust Act.
 The court found Rockefeller guilty in illegal monopoly practices and ordered his
Standard Oil Company to be broken up into 34 new companies.
 Some of these companies still exist today for your car's gasoline!
 Despite the breakup, Rockefeller was still one of the richest men who ever lived with a
wealth of $900,000,000!!!
PHILANTHROPIST AND LEGACY
 In his later life, Rockefeller fortune peaked to almost one billion US dollars!
 He donated about $80,000,000 to the University of Chicago, $50,000,000 to Rockefeller
University (formerly the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research).
 He created the Rockefeller Foundation in 1913 which focused on public health, medical
training, and the arts.
 Rockefeller died on May 23, 1937, two months before his 98th birthday in Florida. He
was buried in Cleveland.
 He and his family built the Rockefeller Center in New York which still stands today.

J.P. Morgan
BIOGRAPHY
 Born as John Pierpont "J.P. Morgan on April 17, 1837 in Hartford, Connecticut.
 As a child and a teenager, J.P. Morgan was educated in many places, both in the United
States and in Europe.
  Married Amelia Sturges in 1861 and had four children. First went into banking in 1857
and later worked at the Duncan and Sherman and Company Bank based on his father's
banking connections. Years later, it was renamed the J.P. Morgan & Company.
 Throughout the years, he began to finance newspapers, Edison's electric lightbulbs, and
the nation's Federal Treasury.
 Morgan's fascination with the electric lightbulb enables him to finance Thomas Edison's
company in 1878, and his house on Madison Avenue was the first private residence in
New York to be lit by electricity.
AS A BUSINESSMAN
 As a businessman, Morgan was cunning. At age 24, Morgan merged and created the most
powerful banks through buyouts and mergers.
 He reorganized railroads industries and stabilized their financial bases.
 Morgan was able to gain more control from railroads stocks, making him even more
powerful.
 As the executor of Cornelius Vanderbilt's will, Morgan stole money from the man's
fortune.
 He also bought US Steel from fellow industrialist Andrew Carnegie for nearly $500
million.
 Many find his role in the economy oppressive and overbearing.
DOWNSIDE OF WEALTH
 Morgan and his fellow industrialists only made up of a small percentage of American
wealth and power while the rest of society struggled on less than $100 income per month.
The gap between the rich and poor was never more obvious.
 Laborers who worked in factories and industries under Morgan, Rockefeller, and any
Robber Barons had to face dangerous workplaces where death was possible.
 Citizens and politicians alike grew weary of the ruthless ways Morgan and the Robber
Barons practiced through bribery and any other immoral business practices.
 With so much money in their pockets, Morgan and his fellow rivals were not shy from
buying their own President (McKinley) to set themselves for life.
ANTI TRUST AND TEDDY ROOSEVELT
 So much wealth and power in a small percentage of citizens affected the people's
livelihood.
 During one Presidential Campaign, threats called anti-trusts loomed over the Robber
Barons.
 Morgan banded together with Rockefeller and Carnegie by supporting William McKinley
for the presidential seat, which will enable them to practice businesses freely.
 Morgan and the Robber Barons hoped that by putting Teddy Roosevelt as Vice-President,
they would be free to practice businesses their ways.
  This plan backfired when McKinley was assassinated and Roosevelt became the next
President. Roosevelt was against trusts and big businesses and believed in social and
Industrial Justice.

PHILANTHROPIST, DEATH, AND LEGACY

 The Federal Treasury was nearly out of gold and money because of the Panic of 1893.
Morgan offered to supply the US Treasury with 3.5 million ounces of gold, thus saving
the US dollar from collapsing.

 J.P. Morgan died on March 31, 1913 before his 76th birthday and his son inherited the
banking business. After his death, his banking businesses branched off into the JP
Morgan & Co and the Morgan Grenfell.

 Today, the JP Morgan & Co is the investment banking and private banking arm of
JPMorgan Chase.