Robber Baron or Industrial statesmen To what extent is it justified to characterize the industrial leaders of the 1865- 1900 era as either "robber barons" or "industrial statesmen"?

Subject  > History Term Papers  > North American History

In the era following the Civil War, Industrialization had many leaders. These leaders achieved the great feat of booming the growth of the economy and industry of the United States and its citizens to become the leading industrial power in the world. As historians have reviewed their great achievements historians have become critics questioning how honest the fortunes of these leaders were. They pondered the tactics of great leaders such as John D. Rockefeller, J. Pierpont Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie. The morals of these businessmen and their strategies were the leading topic of discussion, whether to classify them as "robber barons" or "industrial statesmen". Glancing at the achievements of these great figures in history it appears that ...

... three times as much. The government had to pay them so they paid three times as much. All the construction workers did was give a portion to the Governor so that it was official in the government. They made huge profits. William H. Vanderbilt's most famous quote was "the public be damned". He was in an interview with the Chicago Daily News in 1882. He was discussing how the "dear public" is not why the railroads are run, but built and run for the "men who invest money and expect to get a fair percentage on the same". In conclusion these entrepreneurs used unethical tactics and strategies. They did

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