The Gilded Age: Dealt with corruption in American Politics after Civil War along with Industrialization, and Inventions that led to Expansion, and Growth. (Economic, Social, Political). It gets its name from a base underneath the illusion of prosperity luster. (Underneath: Corruption and greed. Above: Polite society and intellect) U.S. History Mr. G.A. Hawkins

The Gilded Age: Entrepreneurs or Robber Barons? Mr. G.A. Hawkins U.S. History

The Gilded Age: Entrepreneurs or Robber Barons? Entrepreneurs = A person or group of people who take risks in pursuit of making money and creating wealth by taking advantage of technology in their era.

The Gilded Age: Entrepreneurs or Robber Barons? Robber Barons = In the United States, the term has been used to describe corrupt and unscrupulous industrialists.

The Gilded Age: Entrepreneurs or Robber Barons? George Westinghouse George Westinghouse = made fortune in the railroad industry. Invented the compressed air brake which was a safety feature for the railroad. It allowed trains to haul more cars and to travel at greater speeds. (Westinghouse Air Company)

The Gilded Age: Entrepreneurs or Robber Barons? Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt = Pioneer in railroad industry prior to Civil War. He owned shipping business. War disrupted water traffic. He invested in Rail Roads. He bought the New York Central Rail Road and took control of two other lines. He continued to add and it grew to over 4,500 miles of railroad. Went from Cleveland, Chicago, New York and Toledo. Worth 100 Million dollars.

The Gilded Age: Entrepreneurs or Robber Barons? George Pullman George Pullman = one of the most successful railroad giants. He made long distance railroad travel more comfortable. His factories built sleeping cars, dining cars, luxury cars for the wealthy. He built what would come to be known as a “Company Town”. It started with factories, nice homes, happy workers. He controlled daily life and it angered people.

The Gilded Age: Entrepreneurs or Robber Barons? John D. Rockefeller John D. Rockefeller = founder of Standard Oil Company. He owned barrel factories, oil fields, oil storage facilities, pipelines, and rail road tanker cars. He had everything that had to do with the oil industry. By doing this, he was able to sell oil cheaper than his competition. He was able to do this through what is called Horizontal integration. Horizontal integration= is one company’s control of other companies producing the same product.

The Gilded Age: Entrepreneurs or Robber Barons? Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie = Steel baron grew up poor and worked his way up. Invested his money and borrowed $ to invest in stock of bridges, iron, oil, railroads, and telephone lines. He then invested in steel industry. Hired good people and had the most modern machinery. He made $ by buying in bulk and producing mass quantities. This lowered production cost and increased profits. This principle was known as “economies of scale”. He used vertical integration in which he acquired companies that provided materials and services upon which his enterprises depended on. ( Iron and coal mines for steel mills.)

The Gilded Age: Entrepreneurs or Robber Barons? J. P. Morgan J. P. Morgan = He was a banker that bought the Carnegie Steel Company for $500 million in 1901.