The Myth of the Robber Barons

Senate Republicans blocked President Obama's jobs bill last week, calling it more of the same old stimulus that didn't work, and objecting to a 5.6 percent surcharge on taxpayers that earn more than a million dollars.

This week we resume the story of the Sherman Antitrust Act and the way it has been applied in United States corporate history, specifically the case of Standard Oil. And when you're talking Standard Oil, you're talking John D. Rockefeller.

The judge in the Microsoft antitrust trial, Thomas Penfield Jackson, recently stated that he 'didn’t see a distinction' between Bill Gates’s Microsoft Corporation and John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company.

Government as fairy godmother could not, however, subsidize everyone: 'Governmental gifts go to the largest investments'—a survival of the wiliest under laissez-faire slogans. Here were the men called 'Robber Barons' by their critics.

The Gilded Age expressed Mark Twain’s disillusionment over the decline in his nation from the ... kindly America he remembered from his boyhood to the America of Black Friday, Credit Mobilier, Boss Tweed, Tammany, and the hustle for the fast buck.

Can America's schools teach history? The question ought to be ridiculous -- of course they can. What do we pay them for? History is as essential as reading and writing to a republic of free citizens. America's schools have always taught America's history.

t is worth noting that the term 'robber barons' was first applied to 19th-century captains of industry by Matthew Josephson in his 1934 book of that name.

Created by G.F. Keller in 1882, this cartoon depicts the octopus-like reach of the railroad industry monopoly.

This work traces the business enterprises of notorious Robber Baron Jay Gould.

"Early in 1869, the more sensitive citizens of New York became aware that an insufferable hayseed from Vermont named James Fisk Jr. was exceeding even his previous demonstrations of vulgarity."

College and university administrators have always been scrambling for money, and the papers, pledge books, and office files of John D. Rockefeller document the fund-raising efforts of many school administrators in the late nineteenth century.

"'Robber Barons': that was what U.S. political and economic commentator Matthew Josephson (1934) called the economic princes of his own day. Today we call them 'billionaires.'"

This paper traces the rise of the Robber Barons in American history. Specifically focusing on Cornelius Vanderbilt, T. J. Stiles describes how Vanderbilt's competitive spirit and enterprising nature led the way in the growth of American corporations.

This document contains a variety of classic cartoons relating to the monopolies generated by the Robber Barons in the late 19th century. Many of the cartoons portray these monopolies as invasive and detrimental to society.

"The most vehement and persistent controversy in business history has been that waged by the critics and defenders of the ‘robber baron’ concept of the American businessman."

This piece briefly describes the lives and habits of two prominent Robber Barons: J. P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller.

LeFevre discusses some common arguments against the "Robber Barons" of the 19th century: the idea that these businessmen acquired their wealth at the expense of other people; that they wanted to become monopolists; and that they had poor taste.

John Davison Rockefeller, Sr. (July 8, 1839 - May 23, 1937) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of modern philanthropy.

This economic classic is noted for providing us with terms for and expositions of such key economic ideas as the division of labor, "invisible hand," self-interest as a beneficial force, and freedom of trade.

This archive from the New York Times gives an interesting glimpse into the philanthropy of Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Written in 1877, this New York Times article provides a contemporary account of the life of a famous Robber Baron, Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt.

This archive from the New York Times briefly chronicles the life of Henry Clay Frick. Frick worked closely with Andrew Carnegie and was classified as one of the great Robber Barons.

Written at the time of his death, this archive from the New York Times describes Jay Gould's impressive rise from a fourteen-year-old determined to make his own way in life, to a successful businessman amidst the interests of Wall Street.

Nations, like men, are travelers. Each one of them moves, through history, toward what we call progress and a new life or toward decay and death.

This piece presents an extensive biography of J. W. Gates at the time of his death. Classified as a Robber Baron, Gates built his success through steel-related initiatives and investments in the stock market.

This document provides a selection of letters written between John D. Rockefeller Sr. and John D. Rockefeller Jr.

This document provides a look at J. P. Morgan and his business dealings and practices from the eyes of one of his contemporaries.

Seven men dominate the financial and railroad policies upon three-quarters of the railroad mileage of the United States. Every great highway of commerce lies within the control of one or another of them.

Written by Matthew Josephson, this book coined the term "robber baron" and influenced several generations of Americans against the industrial capitalists of the late 19th and early 20th century.

The old laws, and the old customs which had almost the binding force of law, were once quite sufficient to regulate the accumulation and distribution of wealth.

In May last the Supreme Court handed down decisions in the suits in equity brought by the United States to enjoin the further maintenance of the Standard Oil Trust and of the American Tobacco Trust, and to secure their dissolution.

American Colossus is an unforgettable portrait of the years when the contest between capitalism and democracy was at its sharpest, and capitalism triumphed.

This is the definitive biography of a man whose influence on American business was unsurpassed in his day—or any other.

John T. Flynn began to rethink his old-style 'progressivism' to develop intellectually into a defender of markets as against the regimentation of government management. A first product of these steps is this full biography of John D. Rockefeller.

A pioneer on the heroic scale, Henry Plant transformed a vast geographic and commercial territory into something entirely new.

"The businessman is a symbol of American culture the world around, and for many people that symbol was personified by John D. Rockefeller."

Brilliantly crafted, epic in scope, Morgan reveals a man we have never seen before, offering new insights on the culture, political struggles, and social conflicts of America's Gilded Age.

Yerkes's enduring public works and remarkable history are a testament to his success, but Robber Baron reveals that his legacy wasn't as sparkling as he might have hoped.

Business genius and hedonist, Charles Schwab entered the steel industry as an unskilled laborer and within twenty years advanced to the presidency of Carnegie Steel.

A gripping, groundbreaking biography of the combative man whose genius and force of will created modern capitalism.

In this splendid biography, Maury Klein paints the most complete portrait of the notorious Gould that we have ever had.

One took the east coast and one took the west coast. Together the two Henrys helped make Florida what it is.