ROBBER BARONS
Extremely large and powerful industries developed that were owned and dominated by a very small group of men. Four of these highly influential men were Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan. With limited governmental regulation, many of these industries were able to evolve into monopolies and collude amongst themselves, an evolution that generated public outrage at the resulting unfair practices and inequalities. The industries countered the populist response by becoming more involved in politics.
Cornelius Vanderbilt. Cornelius Vanderbilt was an industrial businessman who made his fortune in the railroad business (John 2012). The railroad system was a highly anticipated new technology that began with the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. With rapid expansion, the railroad system bridged the regions of the country and triggered major economic growth for decades. Rapid consolidation of independent railroad systems occurred with the key robber barons being Cornelius Vanderbilt, J. P. Morgan, and James J. Hill (Crawford 2013). Consolidation led to monopolies that set …show more content…
The effects of the resulting economic inequality during the Gilded Age can be seen across race, ethnicity, and gender (Saez and Zucman 2014). In 1909 Andrew Carnegie published a book he titled Problems of To-day – Wealth – Labor- Socialism. In this book, he stated “The unequal distribution of wealth lies at the root of the present socialistic activity. It was bound to force itself to the front, because, exhibiting extremes unknown before, it has become one of the crying evils of our day. (Carnegie 1909). He published the following chart that showed the few rich owned 75% of the countries’ wealth but paid less in taxes than the middle or working
Extremely large and powerful industries developed that were owned and dominated by a very small group of men. Four of these highly influential men were Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan. With limited governmental regulation, many of these industries were able to evolve into monopolies and collude amongst themselves, an evolution that generated public outrage at the resulting unfair practices and inequalities. The industries countered the populist response by becoming more involved in politics.
Cornelius Vanderbilt. Cornelius Vanderbilt was an industrial businessman who made his fortune in the railroad business (John 2012). The railroad system was a highly anticipated new technology that began with the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. With rapid expansion, the railroad system bridged the regions of the country and triggered major economic growth for decades. Rapid consolidation of independent railroad systems occurred with the key robber barons being Cornelius Vanderbilt, J. P. Morgan, and James J. Hill (Crawford 2013). Consolidation led to monopolies that set …show more content…
The effects of the resulting economic inequality during the Gilded Age can be seen across race, ethnicity, and gender (Saez and Zucman 2014). In 1909 Andrew Carnegie published a book he titled Problems of To-day – Wealth – Labor- Socialism. In this book, he stated “The unequal distribution of wealth lies at the root of the present socialistic activity. It was bound to force itself to the front, because, exhibiting extremes unknown before, it has become one of the crying evils of our day. (Carnegie 1909). He published the following chart that showed the few rich owned 75% of the countries’ wealth but paid less in taxes than the middle or working