Is he a Robber Baron OR Captain of Industry?

What is a Robber Baron? During the Industrial Revolution,

What is a Captain of Industry? The men that used ingenious
the term Robber Baron, was used to describe a person
business methods to create monopolies and vast wealth
who made, what some considered, excessive amounts of
were also known as Captains of Industry because they
money in business. It was an insulting term used for a
exhibited leadership in their field and commanded the
person who was thought to have used unfair business
respect of the business world. Often times these Captains of
practices and showed little empathy for the common
Industry gave back their communities by participating in
factory worker. If this industrialist used his political and
philanthropy. Men like Carnegie, were often known for their
corporate influence for his own selfish ends, he could be
large contributions for projects of public benefit like libraries.
described as a robber baron.

Today you are going to read primary and secondary source documents about four of America’s main industrialists: Cornelius
Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnage, and JP Morgan. For each source you will need to decide if each man is Robber
Baron or a Captain of Industry, and use evidence from the document to support your choice.

Source RB CI Why
1 X “He has devoted himself to the study of the steam navigation of his country—
not with the object of extending its development, but the purpose of [making
money and ruining his competitors].”

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-Goal was selfish
Vanderbilt
Cornelius

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2 X “Vanderbilt, a wealthy railroad tycoon, was viewed as a tyrannous man of

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excessive corporate power, which is clearly shown in this cartoon.”
-Cartoon depicted him as a tyrant

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3 X
rs e “His armored horse (which resembles a train) is a clear reference to his
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benefactor, railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who sits with fellow
monopolists in the box seats behind the knight.”
-Quote says he “sits with his fellow monopolists
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4 X “Mr. Rockefeller was driven to this new task of organizing not only by his
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own [curiosities]; he was driven to it by that thing so abhorrent to his mind—

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competition.”
-Selfish goal which was competition
Rockefeller

5 X “The Standard Oil Octopus (Rockefeller)”

John D.

-Depicts Rockefeller and his company as a monster in the cartoon

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6 X “Rockefeller Gifts Total $530,854,632

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-Did a generous thing

7 X “Do not make riches, but usefulness, your first aim; and let your chief pride
be that your daily occupation is in the line of progress and development;
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-Ideals were not selfish

8 X “The cartoon showed him as a good person and quoted him, “To die rich is to
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Carnage
Andrew

die disgraced”
-Did not support money hording
9 X “In 1892 Andrew Carnegie’s steel mill in Homestead, PA was threatened to
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grind to a halt over a workers strike. Workers wanted to unionize over

incredibly unsafe working conditions, and Carnegie didn't want this because
it meant shorter hours for the workers, which would result in less steel being
produced, and would cost him money.”
-He risk his workers safety to get money
10 X “Morgan was heavily involved in reorganizing and consolidating a number of
JP M

financially troubled railroads. In the process, he gained control of significant

portions of these railroads’ stock and eventually controlled an estimated one-
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 sixth of America’s rail lines. During Morgan’s era, the United States had no
central bank so he used his influence to help save the nation from disaster
during several economic crises. In 1895, Morgan assisted in rescuing
America’s gold standard when he headed a banking syndicate that loaned the
federal government more than $60 million. In another instance, the financial
panic of 1907, Morgan held a meeting of the country’s top financiers at his
New York City home and convinced them to bail out various faltering
financial institutions in order to stabilize the markets.”
-He did many generous acts for his nation
Is he a Robber Baron OR Captain of Industry?
Now that you are done reviewing these four men, please check if you think that they are a
Robber Baron or a Captain of Industry?

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Vanderbilt Rockefeller Carnage JP Morgan

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Robber Baron Capt. Of Indus. Capt. Of Indus.
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Capt. Of Indus.
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Of these four, who do you think was the worst Robber Baron? Why?
The worst Robber Baron was Vanderbilt because everything he did was selfish.

Of these four, who do you think was the best philanthropist? Why?
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JP Morgan was the best philanthropist because of the sheer number of generous acts he
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did for his nation.

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Inferencing: What can we infer about working conditions for the average laborer
during the Gilded Age based upon these documents?
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We can infer that the working conditions for the average laborer during the
Gilded Age based upon these documents were very harsh.
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