The men that built America as they are called, are in fact Captains of Industry. Without them America would not be what it is today, the jobs they created and the things they invented helped make America a world power. Carnegie gave away almost his entire fortune before he died. Which was $350 million, in today’s money that is $13.7 billion. The captains of industry helped create thousands of jobs which allowed more people to work. Without this kind of advancement from these men’s multiple inventions and factories which created many jobs. The World would still be thirty years behind in technologies. Jobs were created in droves because of these men, which means a lot of people got to work and a lot of people were able to support their families. The opportunities that were opened up for the average American were increased ten-fold because of the rapid expansion that these men were creating. The types of work that became available to the working man were mainly factory jobs such as repair the machines if they broke-down which happened a lot. This type of work was very dangerous but the people were able to work because of these men. Even if the work was dangerous they still have to work and they were able to because of these Captains of …show more content…
Vanderbilt was the first Captain of Industry to raise and he helped keep America moving forward because of the trains he produced and the tracks he connected. Vanderbilt may have used unethical methods to control all the railroads so he could connect them but in the end the results outweigh the methods. Vanderbilt unification of all the Eastern railroads allowed cargo to be moved with ease because it didn’t need to be unloaded then reloaded because it had to switch rail-lines. Vanderbilt’s unification also made traveling by train one of the fastest and easiest modes of
Before the 1860s U.S. railroads were inefficient for big business to explode, and shipping goods wasn’t as easy before Cornelius Vanderbilt organized a steam ship company. He also controlled all lines of railroad linking New York to the Great Lakes. His strategy was to create a monopoly to gain wealth and power of all the effective railroad lines into one major company. He expressed competition and set unfair prices for the workers. The workers soon revolted and went on strike in 1877 due to the low pay and increase of work hours.
This ultimately led Carnegie to provide for many American cities, towns, and factories. However, towards the end of his life, he sold his steel company to J.P Morgan, then tried doing good deeds to the society. Carnegie made 2,800 free libraries, and “at his death disbursed his entire $350 million fortune”(Blessed Barons). Although Carnegie did wonderful things, after J.P Morgan bought Carnegie's steel company, he did some great things. Morgan, came from a smart family, and had an “appetite for bosomy women, enormous yachts, and exquisite art was legendary” (Blessed Barons) to him.
Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie was a captain of industry because he gained a lot of money, but didn’t save all of it for himself. He gave his money to charities and different causes that benefited others. Carnegie believed in the “Gospel of Wealth”. This was an article that Carnegie wrote about how wealthy people should give their money to others instead of keeping it for themselves. He supported education and reading because he loved to read and he thought it was important for new generations.
The context of Andrew Carneige becoming a Robber Baron is the Industrial Revolution, because the industrialization is the explosion of factories and the mass production of consumer goods such as steel. The industrial revolution act set the economic foundation that allowed Andrew Carnegie to create the monopoly that is carnegie steel. Some will argue that Andrew Carnegie is a Captain of industry because in Document 9 he wanted to make sure the people had a good lifestyle, but the evidence supports he is a Robber Baron because he used his wealth for more money and he also didn’t show any humanization towards the people. In document 3 we talk about something called the Shrewd Businessman, in this document it says that Andrew Carnegie made
Carnegie’s company was the reason why the United States has a well built physical infrastructure. His company is was stimulated the Industrial Revolution, as he was the one
““Those who labor in the earth,” he wrote, “are the chosen people of God.”” (Roosevelt gtd. “Westward”). This quote explains how important it was to the Americans. Without these transcontinental railroads that Vanderbilt built then westward expansion would’ve never happened.
This devalued the jobs of women, as they stayed home and spun wool and stuff. Now there was machines to do that job. Additionally, these times widened gap between the wealthy and the poor. Unskilled workers, also known as “drifters” went town to town looking for jobs that worked for them.
Production and inventions were flying from left to right throughout this time. The railroad system became such a huge benefit to America, that the amount of railroad tracks was enormous. Many people were awed and so fascinated with the fact that long distant journeys wasn’t an issue anymore. They were able
The “laboratory” developed rapid and cheap innovations for many people in society from a “lady’s watch to a Locomotive” and a well-managed business like above creates economic growth (Document B). Some of the innovations were typewriters, mass productions by assembly lines, telephones, and light bulbs. These innovations and productions of products revolutionized the modern world. The innovation of products is similar to the time period of the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812 where supplies and materials from Britain were cut off from entering America, which led to many innovations to meet the needs of the country. After the Civil War, these “industrial statesmen” did just that to reinforce America economically and socially after the divisiveness of the war.
The late nineteenth century was a pivotal moment in American history. During this time, the Industrial Revolution transformed the nation, railroads had dissipated all throughout the country, and economic classes began to form, separating the wealthy from the poor. One of the wealthiest men of this generation was Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant who fled to America to make millions off the railroad, oil and even steel businesses. Carnegie is considered one of the richest men in history, and even with all that wealth he decided to give back to the community. As a matter of fact, Carnegie donated most of his funds to charities, universities and libraries in his last few years.
There were many technological innovations during the Gilded Age and most came from great minds of men like Carnegie, Vanderbilt, and Rockefeller. These innovations, such as the railroads, steel, and electricity, helped pave the way towards the strong and powerful America we know today. Railroads today are hardly ever used anymore except to ship huge loads of materials from one end of the country to the other, but even then, there are other efficient means for the travel of such products such as by plane, but back then in the Gilded Age, railroads were a huge part of the political and high class society of America. To control an important railroad was to have power in the society of America back then, and your power and class position would go up even higher with many such railroads under your belt. Such was the case for Vanderbilt, who had crucial railroads under his control and authority.
Even the negative side effects of their actions led to long term benefits for many. The creation of monopolies led to government intervention in business on behalf of fair competition. The exploitation of workers led to regulations guaranteeing safety codes, minimum wage, abolition of child labor, and the rise of unions. While they did not intend for these things to occur, they are still byproducts of their efforts to build American industry. They set up the country to become, financially speaking, the largest beneficiary of World War I as the U.S. supplied much of the material used to fight the conflict.
Without the visionary, ambitious, and powerful people that were part of that era the world would never be like we know it today. I can’t imagine if the train, cars, light bulbs or phone were never invented. All those scientific inventions are the pillars of the comfortable world where we live today. Transportation, played an important role in the past as well, connecting the nation, expanding the markets and by creating thousands of jobs like the construction of railroads across
In the 1860s Cornelius Vanderbilt was aware of the big growth in the future of transportation. He believed it would soon not be by water, but by railway. That’s when Cornelius had an idea on how to continue the growth of his businesses. Vanderbilt was a robber baron who used ruthless business practices to enrich himself.
Men like Carnegie, Rockefeller and Morgan could be viewed as "Captains of Industry" and "Robber Barons." Some people may see these men as "captains of industry" because they helped move the nation forward with innovation. Andrew Carnegie who was a Scottish American industrialist ended up leading the huge expansion of the American steel industry. He purchased and constructed Carnegie Steel Company which was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He built a huge bridge across the Mississippi River which was the first time ever a bridge had been constructed out of steel.