Robber Barons or Captains of Industry? Andrew Carnegie John D. Rockefeller J.P. Morgan Cornelius Vanderbilt

Essential Question: How do economic changes impact American society? What were the negative impacts of industrialization/ the rise of big business during the Gilded Age? Skill: cartoon analysis

Negative: “Robber Barons” In what way are these men’s lives/ careers worthy of admiration? What positive impacts did their businesses have on the American economy? Positive: “Captains of Industry” Negative: “Robber Barons”

The American Beauty Rose can be produced in the splendor and fragrance which bring cheer to its beholder only by sacrificing the early buds which grow up around it. This is not an evil tendency in business. It is merely the working-out of a law of nature and a law of God. John D Rockefeller What point is JDR making by Comparing the American Beauty Rose to “business” in the Gilded Age?

“survival of the fittest” in business Social Darwinism “survival of the fittest” in business The most competent businesses would survive and society would benefit from fierce competition Laissez faire “allow to do” Gov’t should leave business alone to let this take place and not regulate big business Government actually supports big business: High tariffs No immigration restrictions Subsidizes the railroads

1870s, 80s- Largest economic growth in history POSITIVE EFFECTS OF THE Rise of big business in the Gilded Age (1870s- early 1900s) 1870s, 80s- Largest economic growth in history Pass Britain as world’s #1 RR- transform the economy Mechanized farming- massive production of food in the west Millions employed- huge era of innovation and inventions (kerosene, steel, telephone, electricity, running water, phonograph) Rise of the middle class (wages increase 60%) and wealth (per capita income #1 in the world) “BIG BUSINESS DOMINATES”: Corporations become the dominate form of business By 1900 “trusts” dominate steel, oil, sugar, meat and farm machinery industries (horizontal, vertical integration)

“Gospel of Wealth”- Industrialists become philanthropists Carnegie donates 90% of wealth to charity Rockefeller- $500,000,000 1000s of colleges, hospitals, museums, academies, schools, opera houses, public libraries, charities paid for by industrialists

By the end of the 1800s, many began to be critical of the power of big business and the wealth of industrialists…

Cartoon Analysis: 1- Symbols/ Labeling Cartoonists often have things in the cartoon symbolize other things. Often objects or people are labeled to make it clear exactly what they symbolize. Identify important symbols and/or labels in the cartoon:       If symbols are used, why do you think the cartoonist used those particular symbols? Choose a couple (2) to explain.

Cartoon Analysis: 2 - Exaggeration Sometimes cartoonists overdo, or exaggerate, the physical characteristics of people or things in order to make a point. Identify any characteristics that seem overdone or overblown.   What point do you think the cartoonist was trying to make by exaggerating them?

Cartoon Analysis: 3- Analogy An analogy is a comparison between two unlike things. By comparing a complex issue or situation with a more familiar one, cartoonists can help their readers see it in a different light. What two situations does the cartoon compare? (What familiar situation is being used to make a point about a more complex issue?)   ________ is like _______________ (the situation in the cartoon) (the actual issue) How are these two things comparable?   

Cartoon Analysis: 4- Irony Irony is the difference between the ways things are and the way things should be, or the way things are expected to be. Cartoonists often use irony to express their opinion on an issue. Can you find any irony in the situation the cartoon depicts? (Is anything in the cartoon not the way it should be?)  

Paraphrasing- be sure to EXPLAIN “because” Railroads are bad because….

“What a Funny Little Government”, by Horace Taylor for the September 25, 1899 issue of The Verdict THE TRUST GIANTS POINT OF VIEW “WHAT A FUNNY LITTLE GOVERNMENT” White House, President McKinley

Mark Hanna- iron and coal industrialist Philip Armour- meatpacking LABOR ONE SEES HIS FINISH UNLESS GOOD GOVERNMENT RETAKES THE SHIP Mark Hanna- iron and coal industrialist Philip Armour- meatpacking industrialist

“The Standard Oil Octopus”

Joseph Keppler - 1889 political cartoon "The Bosses of the Senate",

“The Protectors of our Industry” 1883 Russell Sage- financier and Railroad executive William Henry Vanderbilt- railroads Cyrus Field- American Telegraph Company Jay Gould- Railroad Developer And speculator

Samuel Ehrhardt, ‘History Repeats Itself: The Robber Barons of the Middle Ages and the Robber Barons of Today’, Puck, c. 1889

On back of your cartoon….. If you haven’t, please write down 3 specific problems the cartoonists saw with the rise of big business, formation of monopolies and trusts, and the growing power and wealth of industrialists…. For at least one, write down a possible solution to the problem…. Challenge: what might the arguments be against the(se) solution(s)