The big business leaders of the Industrial Revolution like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and Leland Stanford were certainly captains of industry. They each contributed innovations that made this era extremely significant for its advanced modernization. These renovations include: the opening of a steel plant, the Standard Oil Company finding, and the development of the railroad system in California. While these implementations are mostly associated with their names, they certainly did not create them on their own.
Andrew Carnegie for instance, was astounded by Henry Bessemer's convenient way of altering iron ore into steel by means of incredibly hot air; which triggered Carnegie to consider opening a steel plant in the United States. The steel plants benefits included being able to build skyscrapers, and bridges at a reasonable cost due to his low priced and economical fees. In addition, "Steel meant more jobs, national prestige, and a
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higher quality of life for many." Carnegie was extremely crucial about having the best equipment for his steel plant. As soon as the latest machinery was available, he would command that the equipment be replaced on the spot. Carnegie's ways of maintaining his steel plant was a reflection of how crucial it was for his particular company to be the largest, most convenient for the world to benefit from. Moreover, John D.
Rockefeller was also one to fill in the details that the oil industry required after being founded by Edwin Drake who initiated the oil boom. "The technology used by Drake was not new. What was new was the idea of drilling for oil -- the idea that you could pump oil out of the ground like you could pump water." Rockefeller is known to have been able to stature out how to have the oil transported, packaged, and marketed. Rockefeller's meticulous attention to detail was what is believed to have made his oil company as successful as it was. He was very precise about how the oil would be handled. He took a range of measures into consideration to make sure he was providing the best oil he could. For instance, "He built his own cooperage shop and made his own barrels for the oil." 2 He even wanted for the barrels he used to be as light weight and efficient as possible. Considering he took these kinds of distinct proceedings, demonstrates that he did not only participate in this industry for the
wealth. Leland Stanford, one of the main captains of the railroad industry, was also aided to his success by his three other partners; together they were called the Big Four. Crocker, Huntington, Hopkins, and Stanford all contributed to making the West easily attainable by creating the railroad organization in California, followed by the transcontinental system. The major benefit of these two was the ability to import and export anything needed quickly, rather than on cattle, or horses. As a final point, the renovations that were presented by these leaders were very helpful and essentially vital to the world. Although they are believed to have been incredibly unethical, these resourceful implementations demonstrated otherwise.
Despite the negative encounters of Andrew Carnegie’s Steel Company, the exploration and exchange of Carnegie Steel is that the steel was cheap. This had a positive impact on the United States because steel fed national growth, steel meant more jobs, national prestige, and a higher quality of life for
Morgan, Rockefeller and Carnegie were all robber barons. They all showed that they were robber barons because they were all cruel and ruthless. John d. Rockefeller was a cruel and inhuman person to his worker. He treated his workers like slaves, low pay, long working hours and he disliked union activity from anyone. Andrew Carnegie another ruthless person that would stop at nothing to win. He would compete against others and fiercely try to squash the opponents. He was a very possessive and control person.Morgan mount govern one of the less cruel and ruthless of the two powerful businessmen. Morgan criticized for creating monopolies by making it difficult for any business to compete against his own. These three business man all have done bad
John D. Rockefeller as a Robber Baron A "robber baron" was someone who employed any means necessary to enrich themselves at the expense of their competitors. Did John D. Rockefeller fall into that category or was he one of the "captains of industry", whose shrewd and innovative leadership brought order out of industrial chaos and generated great fortunes that enriched the public welfare through the workings of various philanthropic agencies that these leaders established? In the early 1860s Rockefeller was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, who came to epitomize both the success and excess of corporate capitalism. His company was based in northwestern Pennsylvania. A major question historians have disagreed on has been whether or not John D. Rockefeller was a so-called "robber baron".
Many people consider Rockefeller a robber of industry because of his forcible ways of gaining his monopolies. Rockefeller was fond of buying out small and large competitors. If the competitors refused to sell they often found Rockefeller cutting the prices of his Standard Oil or in the worst cases, their factories mysteriously blowing up. Rockefeller was obsessed with controlling the oil market and used many of undesirable tactics to flush his competitors out of the market. Rockefeller was also a master of the rebate game. He was one of the most dominant controllers of the railroads. He was so good at the rebate that at some times he skillfully commanded the rail road to pay rebates to his standard oil company on the traffic of other competitors. He was able to do this because his oil traffic was so high that he could make or break a section of a railroad a railroad company by simply not running...
Carnegie bought his own iron and coal mines (which were necessities in producing steel) because purchasing these materials from independent companies cost too much and was insufficient for Carnegie’s empire. This hurt his competitors because they still had to pay for raw materials at much higher prices. Unlike Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller integrated his oil business from top to bottom. Rockefeller’s system was considered a ‘horizontal’ integration. This meant that he followed one product through all phases of the production process, i.e. Rockefeller had control over the oil from the moment it was drilled to the moment it was sold to the consumer.
Andrew Carnegie, the “King of Steel”, the benevolent employer, the giant of industry, was among the greatest influences of the second industrial revolution. It is sometimes questioned whether Carnegie was the ruthless, sneaky steel tyrant some made him out to be, or the generous, benevolent education benefactor he appeared to be. I believe him to be a combination of both, but more so the great giant of industry.
In Harold C. Livesay’s Andrew Carnegie and the rise of Big Business, Andrew Carnegie’s struggles and desires throughout his life are formed into different challenges of being the influential leader of the United States of America. The book also covers the belief of the American Dream in that people can climb up the ladder of society by hard work and the dream of becoming an influential citizen, just as Carnegie did.
He went to London in 1872, saw the new Bessemer method of producing steel, and returned to the United States to build a million-dollar steel plant. Foreign competition was kept out by a high tariff conveniently set by Congress, and by 1880 Carnegie was producing 10,000 tons of steel a month, making $1 1/2 million a year in profit. By 1900 he was making $40 million a year, and that year, at a dinner party, he agreed to sell his steel company to J. P. Morgan. He scribbled the price on a note: $492,000,000.”
output of steel exceeded that of the UK, and Carnegie owned a large part of it. Carnegie's empire grew to include the J. Edgar Thomson Steel Works,, Pittsburgh Bessemer Steel Works, the Lucy Furnaces, the Union Iron Mills, the Union Mill, the Keystone Bridge Works, the Hartman Steel Works, the Frick Coke Company, and the Scotia ore mines. Carnegie, through Keystone, supplied the steel for and owned shares in the landmark Eads Bridge project across the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri . This project was an important proof-of-concept for steel technology, which marked the opening of a new steel
Rockefeller was America’s first billionaire, and he was the true epitome of capitalism. Rockefeller was your typical rags-to-riches businessman, and at the turn of the twentieth century, while everyone else in the working class was earning ten dollars max every week, Rockefeller was earning millions. There has been much discussion as to whether Rockefeller’s success was due to being a “robber baron”, or as a “captain of industry”. By definition, a robber baron was an industrialist who exploited others in order to achieve personal wealth, however, Rockefeller’s effect on the economy and the lives of American citizens has been one of much impact, and deserves recognition. He introduced un-seen techniques that greatly modified the oil industry. During the mid-nineteenth century, there was a high demand for kerosene. In the refining process from transforming crude oil to kerosene, many wastes were produced. While others deemed the waste useless, Rockefeller turned it into income by selling them. He turned those wastes into objects that would be useful elsewhere, and in return, he amassed a large amount of wealth. He sold so much “waste” that railroad companies were desperate to be a part of his company. However, Rockefeller demanded rebates, or discounted rates, from the railroad companies, when they asked to be involved with his business. By doing so, Rockefeller was able to lower the price of oil to his customers, and pay low wages to his workers. Using these methods,
Rockefeller’s impact on society has changed the way a lot of tasks were done. Rockefeller was known as a hero to many enterprising americans. (McCullough 5) He brought his brother, William Rockefeller, into a partnership that built another oil refinery in Cleveland. In 1867, Henry M. Flagler became a business partner of Rockefeller, thus creating the business Rockefeller, Andrews, And Flagler. (Poole 13) In 1868, Rockefeller, Andrews, and Flagler’s business became the largest oil refiner in the world. (Poole 13)
Carnegie saw how bad the wooden railroads were, so he proceeded to slowly replace them with iron ones. Carnegie's charm, perception, and hard work led to becoming one of the world's most famous men of the time, and led to the first corporation in the world with a market capitalization in excess of one billion when he sold his companies to John Morgan who called them United States Steel Corporation.
The United States has come to be known as a major world superpower throughout history. One of the main parts of America that has contributed to its renowned strength has been its economy. The United State’s economy has been growing ever since it began. Credit for its strength and progress in development can be attributed to the financial geniuses of their time. John D. Rockefeller became an economical giant during his time when he changed the face of business by developing ground-breaking new strategies to ensure financial success. Rockefeller dramatically changed the business field during The Gilded Age. He did so through the use of his social Darwinistic philosophy of capitalism, inclusion of vertical and horizontal integration, combination of both his business views and religious beliefs, his Standard Oil Company along with specific refinery processes. He founded the Standard Oil Company, one of the first types of businesses during its time. Although this company helped Rockefeller become known for his successful and competitive strategies, he did develop these strategies by himself with the use of his own beliefs and views.
The industrial revolution was a huge thing in the 1800’s. The industrial revolution was when there were many new technological breakthroughs, such as medicine and new inventions that helped people. There were many new things that people could use that would change the way that these people lived their lives. Because the industrial revolution happened, Americans today can still use these inventions and use that knowledge and innovate them to make it better. One such device is the cotton gin patented by Eli Whitney in 1794.
Numerous families living in small town America lost their income because of Standard Oil and forced hardship upon many. The legacy of John D. Rockefeller shall always live on as he has permanently shaped how this country looks. He has funded huge advancements in the fields of education and medicine along with starting the events to end lassiez-faire economics. The petroleum industry changed greatly during his career thanks to his research and completely new business methods were thought up of by him, some still in practice today.