Case Study: the Industrialists in the Gilded Age (Captain of Industry and Robbin Barons)

The wave of industrialism that was often driven by a few great men known as industrialists. There can be no mistaking their purpose, wealth. Some feel that the powerful industrialists of the gilded age should be referred to as "robber barons." This view brings out the negative. It portrays men like Vanderbilt and Rockefeller and Ford and cruel and ruthless businessmen who would stop at nothing to achieve great wealth. These "robber barons" were accused of using workers and forcing horrible working conditions and unfair labor practices upon the laborer. Another view of an industrialist is "captain of industry." The term captain views these men as viewed original and hard working leaders who transformed the American economy with their business skills. They were praised for their skills as well as for their charity. In reality the debate over robber barons and captains of industry mirrors views of industrialism itself. Just as their were both positives and negatives to industrialism there were positives and negatives to the leaders of industrialism. The industrialist of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century are best described as robbin barons.

          Many historians see this as really an unfair way to characterize the industrial capitalists of this era (like Andrew Carnegie), but there are reasons to call them this.   The main reason is the fact that they were so much richer than all the other people of their time. If you have workers who are getting a couple of dollars a day and the man who owns their factories gets millions a year, you can see why someone would say that man is a robber.   He is getting hugely rich off of the work of other people (who remain poor).   This seems like thievery. Another reason to call them robber barons was because of the way they built their huge companies.   People accused them of unfair business practices that drove competitors out of business, leaving the "robber barons" with control of the business. This, too,...