The robber barons book. ‎The Robber Barons on Apple Books 2023-01-07

The robber barons book Rating: 8,1/10 1886 reviews

The term "robber baron" was coined in the late 19th century to describe a group of powerful and wealthy industrialists who were seen as using unethical and manipulative tactics to amass their fortunes. These men, known as the "robber barons," were often criticized for their lack of social responsibility and their ruthless pursuit of wealth.

One of the most well-known robber barons was John D. Rockefeller, who founded Standard Oil and became one of the wealthiest men in history. Rockefeller is often credited with pioneering the concept of the modern corporation, but he also faced criticism for his business practices, including using his vast wealth and influence to crush competition and secure favorable deals with railroads and other businesses.

Another robber baron was Andrew Carnegie, who built a fortune in the steel industry through a combination of technological innovation and aggressive business tactics. Carnegie is known for his philanthropy, but he also faced criticism for his treatment of workers and his role in the Homestead Strike of 1892, which resulted in violent clashes between workers and Pinkerton guards.

Other notable robber barons include J.P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Henry Ford. These men were all known for their tremendous wealth and influence, but they were also criticized for their lack of concern for the well-being of their employees and their disregard for the negative effects their businesses had on the environment and society.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the robber barons were a controversial and polarizing figure. Some saw them as visionary entrepreneurs who were responsible for the rapid industrialization and economic growth of the United States, while others saw them as greedy and ruthless capitalists who were more interested in personal gain than in the welfare of the general public.

Despite their controversial reputation, the robber barons played a significant role in shaping the modern economy and continue to be remembered as important figures in American history.

Robber Barons

the robber barons book

Encyclopedia of American social history. And, finally, he was respectable, his respectability being designed, as he said candidly, to impress his clients. He supported cuts on income tax rates for all groups. Tawney, in his "Religion and the Rise of Capitalism," Calvin liberated the economic energies of the rising bourgeoisie of Europe by his teachings. So, apparently, have a lot of fans that he received a round of applause at an early December New York Times conference. However, Captains of Industry were known as philanthropists who used their wealth to benefit society and charity.

Next

The Robber Barons

the robber barons book

He cut costs by improving steamship technology and lowering fares. But Josephson was looking back to the period that began with the Civil War, when there was little in the way of regulation and a number of individuals, often from very humble origins, were able to use their tenacity and shrewdness to build an enormous power base in their own fields, aided by the massive expansion of the United States at that time. These robber barons, as were their medieval counterparts, were the dominating figures of an aggressive economic age. Basically, they got rich at public expense and then used their riches, as they still do, to maint A superb study of the :robber barons," the contribution they made to American economic development and the rapacity with which they exploited America along the way. Morgan, Edward Harriman, Jim Hill, Henry Villard, Collis Huntington, and Andrew Carnegie to name a few. Hard to understand how this book was ever published.

Next

The Myth of the Robber Barons by Burton W. Folsom Jr.

the robber barons book

A long labor of love for my book group. At the end of his life J. By depicting America in such matter of fact terms, this title lends itself to a study on human nature itself. Whitten, "Russian robber barons: Moscow business, American style. First published in 1934 at the height of the Great Depression, this is a damning look at the men who arose around the Civil War and after and how they basically looted the country with government give-aways of land and tax breaks railroads.


Next

Are Silicon Valley’s Most Notorious Fraudsters Today’s Robber Barons?

the robber barons book

This act did not stop the robber barons but ended unregulated business practices. Strange typos and errors through the Kindle version I read didn't help distract from what is a consistently boring book written about very exciting times. Though understandably so, I would love to see the same author attempt to hone in on a single event or person and tell the story from that point. As one man observed, The boat builders, freed from the domination of the Fulton-Livingston interests, were quick to develop new ideas that before had no encouragement from capital. This book is certainly a product of its time.

Next

The Robber Barons by Matthew Josephson

the robber barons book

But judgments of character are fallible and, as innovation ripens into fashion, can be swayed by moralistic appeals. By 1910, the U. For the people of the Reformed Church as for the Jews money was long ago the sole means to power. It was also highly competitive, and soon became large in scale. One downside of the book is that it was written in 1935 and hasn't been updated since, using the old prose of that era, making it at times a bit hard to read for non-native speakers, and slow for even native speakers.


Next

The Robber Barons: The Great American Capitalists 1861 1901 by Matthew Josephson

the robber barons book

Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. It was the qualities of trade and industry, in most predatory form, and not the "agricultural capacities" that flourished in the turbulent laissez-faire society of the frontier democracy. Many of the biggest names of our US history, and many others that you may not know, are shown under the light of A fascinating and infuriating dive into the industrialists of railroads, steel, and oil, who are rightly labeled "Robber Barons. Jackson had "driven the money-changers from the temple. The definitive book on the rise and power of early American capitalists, The Robber Barons examines the careers of such masters of finance and industry as J. Even if they later put huge sums of money into philantopic endeavors in a PR effort to clean their reputation, their imprint on the American industry and American experience in general was stupendous. This was a wonderfully written, insightful, and often subtly humorous account of the lives of the businessmen who laid the foundations of American enterprise in the 1800s.

Next

The Robber Barons: The Great American Capitalists, 1861

the robber barons book

Most were ruthless and developed monopolies that destroyed others. This is a very well researched piece that covers an enormous subject and period of history. The Robber Barons was written in 1934 and I really appreciate the real-time perspective of it because it enables one to get a glimpse of the behavior I read this book over a decade ago and have been recently reading Life at the Dakota, a book about late 1800's and the rise of New York City. By depicting America in such matter of fact terms, this title lends itself to a study on human nature itself. But the poor who came here saw those mountains of gold.

Next

Robber baron (industrialist)

the robber barons book

In him, as a result of the long slow process of economic and religious liberation there had crystallized what we may call the "bourgeois spirit," as opposed to the feudal; he was the homo economicus of the new times. Included are the stories of Rockefeller, Morgan, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Harriman, Gould and Frick. Also, the amount of revenue into the federal treasury increased sharply after tax rates were cut. These guys were ruthless accumulators who engaged in all sorts of cut-throat activities in order to come out on top. The negative public opinion of robber barons spurred business legislation aimed at trusts and monopolies. The process of change, the departure from the old ways toward large-scale industry, toward giant capitalism, toward a centralized, national economy, was long in preparing, gradual, and not too imperceptible.

Next