Captains of Industry

During the late nineteenth century into the early twentieth century America experiences a wave of industrialism driven by a group of men known as industrialists. There is no doubt that these industrialists were driven by one motive, and that was wealth. Historians and others debate the title to be bestowed on these men – that of “captains of industry” or “robber barons”!

John Davison Rockefeller was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. As kerosene and gasoline grew in importance, Rockefeller's wealth soared and he became the world's richest man and the first American worth more than a billion dollars.

"J. P.“ Morgan was an American financier, banker, philanthropist and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. He merged Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric. Purchased the Carnegie Steel Company and several other steel and iron businesses, to form the United States Steel Corporation.

Andrew Carnegie industrialist who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century. He built Pittsburgh's Carnegie Steel Company, which he sold to J.P. Morgan in 1901 for $480 million who created the U.S. Steel Corporation.

Cornelius Vanderbilt also known by the as the Commodore, was an American industrialist and philanthropist who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He provided the initial gift to found Vanderbilt University, which is named in his honor.

John D. Rockefeller Cornelius Vanderbilt Andrew Carnegie "J. P.“ Morgan

Pittsburgh's Carnegie Steel ROBBER BARONS John D. Rockefeller Cornelius Vanderbilt Andrew Carnegie "J. P.“ Morgan Standard Oil Rail Road & Shipping Financier & Banker Pittsburgh's Carnegie Steel GE & US Steel

Captains of Industry vs Robber Barons What is the difference?

Captain of Industry During the Industrial Revolution, a captain of industry was a business leader whose means of amassing a personal fortune contributed positively to the country in some way.

This may have been through increased productivity, expansion of markets, providing more jobs, or acts of philanthropy. This characterization contrasts with that of the robber baron, a business leader using political means to achieve personal ends.

Robber Baron "Robber baron" was a derogatory term used in social criticism and applied to some wealthy and powerful 19th-century American businessmen. The term was typically applied to businessmen who used what were considered to be exploitative practices to amass their wealth.

These practices included exerting control over national resources, accruing high levels of government influence, paying low wages, squashing competition by acquiring competitors in order to create monopolies and eventually raise prices, and schemes to sell stock at inflated prices to unsuspecting investors in a manner which would eventually destroy the company for which the stock was issued and impoverish investors. The term combines the sense of criminal ("robber") and illegitimate aristocracy (a baron is an illegitimate role in a republic).

Early Inventors

Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and the sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. (Note*) Ford did not invent the automobile or the assembly line, however he developed and manufactured the first automobile that many middle class Americans could afford.

Henry Ford created the Ford Model T car in 1908 and went on to develop the assembly line mode of production, which revolutionized the industry.

The assembly line technique of mass production.

Sir Henry Bessemer (1813-1898) invented the first process for mass-producing steel inexpensively, essential to the development of skyscrapers.

The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron prior to the open hearth furnace.