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John Rockefeller's Robber Baron: Captain Of Industry

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I think the way Rockefeller lived and treated his people and workers would put him more in the category of a Robber Baron. In our text the is a nice with up help us understand what kind of man John Rockefeller was, “[Rockefeller’s company] killed its rivals, in brief, by getting the great trunk lines to refuse to give them transportation. Vanderbilt is reported to have said that there was but one man—Rockefeller—who could dictate to him”—H. D. Lloyd, The Atlantic, 1881 But I have to admit people change throughout their life, and Rockefeller did something that was quite astounding. He gave $500 million dollars to charity upon his death. I find that very impressive for a man with his reputation. “He was the first American to ever be worth over …show more content…
He was the kind of man that dealt with business in a way where he owned very thing related to his product, called vertical integration. It meant that he had complete control over everything that went on with his product. He could charge a lot to very little depending on his will and mood. I would call Andrew Carnegie a Captain of industry. He did what he had to too succeed, but I do think he was a little Robber baron as well. Yes, he gave a lot to charity as Ms. Maruani said in the video “Big Business and Raise”, but he also did allow his partner to go through such extremes with their workers. “In the summer of 1892, a Carnegie Steel plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania, cut workers’ wages. The union immediately called a strike. Andrew Carnegie’s partner, Henry Frick, responded by bringing in the Pinkertons, a private police force known for their ability to break up strikes. The Pinkertons killed several strikers and wounded many others in a standoff that lasted some two weeks” (Pearson Text). Was the extent Frick took to extreme? Yes, because I think he only dropped the wages out of greed in the first place. The people only did what they had to

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