Robber Barons: The Industrial Revolution In The United States

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The Industrial Revolution in the United States was taken over and diminished by the so called “Robber Barons”. These robber barons were conniving businessman who eliminated all competition by overrunning smaller franchises. This was a corrupt way for them to make a profit and become very successful. However, it was not very fair to the common people and most of them were outraged with the government because they were not controlling the robber baron’s activities. The government should have played a major role in this situation to help better the nation and create equal and just laws for every citizen to follow, including the robber barons. This could make the people of the United State’s possess secure rights and freedom of speech. This also …show more content…

Robber barons were not concerned about the poor working conditions their employees had to endure. Some robber barons such as Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, and Carnegie used monopolies to wipe out all rivalries they had with other companies. As said in the text, “they fought their way through chaotic competition by strictly controlling costs and increasing efficiency at every step” (Stiles). These monopolists made resources more available to all Americans, and greatly influenced the quick growth of the American economy. This plan that these robber barons came up with also generated massive financial gains for themselves and their companies. This also led to the growth of large companies who took over their competition and ruled the business industry by outsmarting other franchises, causing many of their competitors to go bankrupt and cease …show more content…

Not long after Collins went out of business, Congress began awarding subsidies to businessmen promising to build a transcontinental railroad” (Grindlay). Soon after the government gave these entrepreneurs this money, the entrepreneurs participated in widespread corruption, and went bankrupt. This shows how the government did not realize they were being manipulated by the robber barons. The government continued to give money to these businessmen, only to see it be wasted and not used to improve working conditions. The government should have regulated the businesses of these entrepreneurs. This would have installed new laws regarding working hours and wages for the workers. It would have also made the robber barons work harder and smarter at producing revenue rather than taking money from the government and misusing it. It would have also allowed other companies to conduct businesses similar, thus not allowing monopolies to

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