With only a few weeks of school left , we completed a self-guided lesson, in which we decided as a whole class on how to take notes, watch informational videos, and prepare for the final exam. This year, our final exam is a little different. Instead of the teacher creating the exam, we get to decide the multiple choice questions and learn the information using the various tools we have practiced over the school year. We decided to take notes in a group Google doc and watch the videos together as well. In this unit, we did a case study on Carnegie and Rockefeller, businessmen during the 19th century. During this time, the steel industry prospered greatly. Carnegie and Rockefeller rose and became some of America’s richest men. By watching a variety of videos on ABC Clio and then analyzing them, I was able to gain a better understanding on the two influential men and their lives as businessmen. At the end of the lesson, our teacher instructed us to create our own essential question. Using our jotted notes and information we learned from the videos, our essential question is "Were Carnegie and Rockefeller robber barons or captains of industry? Before answering this question, it's important to define a few key terms. According to a series of ABC Clio videos, Robber Barons can be seen as corrupt and unsportsmanlike. Also, they bribed government officials, bought out or destroyed rivals, created giant monopolies and trusts, and citizens had a love hate relationship with them. On the other hand, captains of industry are good business leaders, the complete opposite of a Robber Baron.
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| John D. Rockefeller |
Born on July 8th, 1939, John D Rockefeller grew to be one of America’s most well-known contributors to the Oil Industry. Although the term “Robber Baron” is quite harsh, it is clear that Rockefeller does deserve to be known by that term. Rockefeller can be called a robber baron simply because he used his power to destroy other businesses. Rockefeller wanted his company to have as much of the market as possible. Knowing this, he used his position and his company, Standard oil, to further himself in his career. Rockefeller was very hungry for wealth, as he once said, “ "Some day Iíll be the richest man in the world." With this mindset, he chose not to just compete with other businesses, but to buy them out in the process. It is described that, “in February 1865, he bought out all his partners except Samuel Andrews a move he later referred to as having "determined my career." Additionally, Under Rockefeller's skilled leadership, the company pioneered in vertical integration within the oil industry, acquiring or building its own pipelines, controlling local distributors, and using its own tank cars. Here, “controlling” is the key word, which is often what robber barons did. With Rockefeller’s drive as a businessman, his company prospered. However, like mentioned above, he only had wealth on his mind. Focused solely on wealth, by 1880 he was able to secure a “virtual monopoly over oil refining and transportation”. According to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, a monopoly is defined as, “exclusive possession or control”, which is exactly what Rockefeller had over the oil industry. Also, Rockefeller was both loved and hated by his peers, which is included in the definition of a robber baron. Although he did participate in philanthropy, giving money towards education, medicine, and science, many people still believed that everything he did was motivated by greed. This brought mistrust between him and his peers and people criticized and even condemned him. So, all in all, he did give a portion of his makings to a variety of causes, but he was seen as a greedy and controlling man of the 19th century.
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| Carnegie's famous piece of writing |
Aside from John D Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie was also one of America's richest men. Compared to Rockefeller, Carnegie was a very different man, as he was was on the first “captains of industry” in the steel industry. As a businessman, he contributed positively and greatly to the citizens and community around him, which ultimately defines a captain of industry. Often, Carnegie publishes articles in a variety of newspapers and journals, one being known as, “The Gospel of Wealth” in 1889. In this article, he states his beliefs on the fact that though people should gain wealth and live successful personal lives, they should also distribute a portion of that wealth to people in need and important causes. Following his own advice, Carnegie and his wife gave 350 million dollars to churches, thousands of public libraries, education, and the cause of peace. Giving back to others undoubtedly very important to Carnegie. However, not only did he give money to people outside of his work environment, but he also believed in treating his workers well.. It is said that, “He believed in rewarding talent and frequently promoted exceptional workers into the ranks of management. He made his senior executives partners, thus providing them with greater incentives to work hard and make the company profitable.” Carnegie was most definitely a people person and enjoyed providing for others and making them happy. Because of this, Carnegie should be classified as a captain of industry during the 19th century.
After reading about these two men, John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, I learned a lot more about them as people and their businesses as well. From both of their lives, I realized that in order to be known as a successful business man it is important to give back to the community and share your wealth. This is especially shown with Carnegie and the fact that he cared very much for his employees and fellow peers. Additionally, I learned that not everyone was generous with their money, as many people believed that Rockefeller was ruthless and greedy with his business tactics. In the end, using the videos and various documents, it can be concluded that Rockefeller is classified as a Robber Baron and Carnegie as a captain of industry.
Citations:
McGuire, William, and Leslie Wheeler. "Andrew Carnegie." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 31 May 2015
McGuire, William, and Leslie Wheeler. "John D. Rockefeller." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 31 May 2015
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