Robber Barons in American History

Before discussing the individuals, however, examination of the context in which they flourished is necessary. Like all historical periods defined by later observers, the social and economic transformations marking the post-Civil War/pre-20th Century era do not actually fit so neatly into the chosen thirty-five year time frame. True, the Civil War is the great dividing line between the ideals of a nascent experiment in democratic government and the mature, division-scarred political pragmatism that emerged from the battlefields of Gettysburg, Antietam, et al. Still, the identity crisis that the Civil War inflicted upon the nation did little to change the perspective in which the mainstream of Americans viewed themselves througho

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e careers of the great capitalists of the 1865-1900 era, the popular myth has always positioned them firmly within the Algerian standard. Even the so-called "robber barons" - powerful men (see above) whose capitalist gains were attributed to exploitation of a gullible (and/or corrupted) government and a politically powerless labor class - even the excesses of those individuals was popularly attributed to a hunger deriving from their lowly origins. The myth, like most legends, loses a lot in terms of substance when examined closely. Scotland-born immigrant Andrew Carnegie (1835-1913), first-born of the three robber barons being examined in this paper, comes closest to the Algerian ideal: his family was poor and he did work himself up through the ranks. However, though Carnegie often fondly recounted his rise from poverty as an example for others to follow, his memoirs describe a different origin: We were not reduced to anything like poverty compared with our neighbors ... my mother ... [kept] us in comfort and "respectable." Moreover, Carnegie, like his slightly-younger contemporary, the New York State-born John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937), was educated: both future entrepreneurial giants were nurtured in homes that respect
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Approximate Word count = 3297
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)

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