Andrew Carnegie Robber Barons

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The Industrial Revolution was a time of great change for America. It was during this time that automobiles were introduced to the general public, railroads were made bigger, faster, safer, and altogether better, and machines took the place of human hands. Life in America shifted from a rural, agricultural based society to urban factory life seemingly overnight. This complete overhaul of the economy accompanied a shift in societal power. Instead of the poor farmers and wealthy heirs of the 18th century, the turn of the 19th century gave power to a select few business tycoons, all touting their own version of the “rags-to-riches” story, meant as an empty promise of hope to America’s poor. These businessmen, called “robber barons”, were some …show more content…
Andrew Carnegie, one of the most famous industrialists of his time, used dishonest tactics such as manipulation of Congress to keep others from even attempting to compete with his company. “…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…” (Zinn, Ch11). Many of these high profile businessmen were so influential that they held some persuasive power over Congress, and in some cases the President. Consequently, men like Carnegie were effectively able to coerce these powerful figures into shaping laws in their favor. In these men’s eyes, breaking the law was justified when they felt the law was bad. Cornelius Vanderbilt was particular notorious for this way of thought- historian Paul Johnson …show more content…
Artist Thomas Nast explores this idea in his political cartoon “Anti-Tweed Ring Satire”. In it, many of America’s most wealthy are depicted in a ring pointing fingers either out or at each other, in response to the question that captions the image: “Who took the people’s money? Do tell.” This cartoon, created in 1871, provides important context for exploring the mindset of the general American public. In interpreting this artwork, we can infer that the people were fed up with the unbelievable power the robber barons held, and wanted them to start taking responsibility for the damage that had caused to everyone else. Often, to diffuse the rumors of scandal and the general dissent that surrounded their immense wealth, the robber barons donated great sums of money to build philanthropic reputations and claim goodwill towards the general public. “Conwell was a founder of Temple University. Rockefeller was a donor to colleges all over the country and helped found the University of Chicago. Huntington, of the Central Pacific, gave money to two Negro colleges, Hampton Institute and Tuskegee Institute. Carnegie gave money to colleges and to libraries. Johns Hopkins was founded by a millionaire merchant, and millionaires Cornelius Vanderbilt, Ezra Cornell, James Duke, and Leland Stanford created
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