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Google). Robber Baron was a term applied to a businessman in the 19th century
who engaged in unethical and monopolistic practices, wielded widespread
political influence, and amassed enormous wealth.
The term itself dated back centuries, and was
originally applied to noblemen in the Middle Ages who functioned as feudal
warlords and were literally “robber barons.”
In the 1870s the term began to be used to describe
business tycoons, and the usage persisted throughout the rest of the 19th
century. The late 1800s and the first decade of the 20th century is sometimes
referred to as an age of robber barons.
The Rise of Robber Barons
As the United States transformed into an industrial
society with little regulation of business, it was possible for small numbers
of men to dominate crucial industries. Conditions which favored vast
accumulations of wealth included the extensive natural resources being
discovered as the country expanded, the enormous potential work force of
immigrants arriving in the country, and the general acceleration of business in
the years following the Civil War.
Railroad builders in particular, needing political
influence to build their railways, became adept at influencing politicians
through the use of lobbyists, or in some cases, outright bribery. And in the
public mind, robber barons were often associated with political corruption.
The concept of laissez faire capitalism, which
dictated no government regulation of business, was promoted. Facing few
impediments to creating monopolies, engaging in shady stock trading practices,
or exploiting workers, some individuals made enormous fortunes.
Examples of Robber Barons
As the term robber baron came into common usage, it
was often applied to a small group of men. Notable examples were:
Cornelius Vanderbilt, owner of steamship lines and
railroads.
Andrew Carnegie, steel manufacturer.
J.P. Morgan, financier and banker.
John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil.
Jay Gould, Wall Street trader.
Jim Fisk, Wall Street trader.
Russell Sage, financier.
The men who were called robber barons were
sometimes portrayed in a positive light, as “self-made men” who had helped
build the nation and in the process created many jobs for American workers.
However, the public mood turned against them in the late 19th century.
Criticism from newspapers and social critics began to find an audience. And
American workers began to organize in great numbers as the labor movement
accelerated.
Events in labor history, such as the Homestead
Strike and the Pullman Strike, intensified public resentment toward the
wealthy. The conditions of workers, when contrasted with the lavish lifestyles
of millionaire industrialists, created widespread resentment.
Even other businessmen felt exploited by
monopolistic practices. And common citizens became aware that monopolists could
more easily exploit workers.
There was even a public backlash against the lavish
displays of wealth often exhibited by the very wealthy of the age. Critics
noted the concentration of wealth as an evil or weakness of society, and
satirists, such as Mark Twain, derided the showiness of the robber barons as
“the Gilded Age.”
In the 1880s journalists such as Nellie Bly
performed pioneering work exposing the practices of unscrupulous businessmen.
And Bly's newspaper, Joseph Pulitzer's New York World, positioned itself as the
newspaper of the people and often criticized wealthy businessmen.
Legislation Aimed at Robber Barons
The public’s increasingly negative view of trusts,
or monopolies, transformed into legislation with the passage of the Sherman
Anti-Trust Act in 1890. The law did not end the reign of robber barons, but it
signaled that the era of unregulated business would be coming to an end.
Over time, many of the practices of the robber
barons would become illegal as further legislation sought to ensure fairness in
American business.
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